ACS Announces Hiring of New Military Director, Foundation Director

The College has two new additions to its executive leadership team. Retired US Army Colonel Brian Eastridge, MD, FACS, is the new Medical Director, Military Health Systems Strategic Partnership, replacing M. Margaret Knudson, MD, FACS; Beth White Carona, CFRE, joins the ACS staff on June 20 as the new Director of the ACS Foundation, replacing Shane Hollett. 

Brian Eastridge, MD, FACS

Dr. Eastridge is a professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Trauma and Emergency General Surgery at The University of Texas (UT) Health San Antonio. He also holds the Jocelyn and Joe Straus Endowed Chair in Trauma Research, is vice-chair of the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, and is an appointed member of the Texas Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council.

While he was in medical school at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Dr. Eastridge was commissioned in the US Army Reserve. After completing his residency in general surgery at the University of Maryland, fellowship training in surgical critical care at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, a faculty appointment in general surgery at UT Southwestern, and—concurrently—17 years of reserves service, Dr. Eastridge transitioned to active duty in the Army Medical Corps. He deployed six times to combat operations in Southwest Asia, during which he helped lead the development and implementation of the Joint Trauma System, designed to improve trauma care and patient outcomes after battlefield injury.

Dr. Eastridge left active service in 2012 and returned to UT Health San Antonio. An ACS Fellow since 2000, he has a long history of service to the ACS Committee on Trauma, for which he is currently the Trauma Systems Pillar Chairman.

Beth White Carona, CFRE

A senior development professional with more than 30 years of fundraising and business development experience, Carona has a proven track record of cultivating and stewarding annual, major, leadership, and planned gifts. She has accomplished this through her talent for fostering strong relationships with prospects, donors, board members, and coworkers.

Carona is also skilled in event planning, communications, marketing, and the creation of relationships with industry partners and foundations. She has been recognized for exceeding organizational goals and objectives at both small and large nonprofit organizations, most recently as the executive director of Susan G. Komen Chicago. Carona also worked in donor development for the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation in Chicago, Loyola University Health Systems, Children’s Memorial Foundation, and Rush University Medical Center.

She is a graduate of Syracuse University and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Learn more about the ACS Foundation and how you can help play a role in supporting programs for surgical research, education, and more.