An esteemed general surgeon in private practice, Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS, is the 2023–2024 President-Elect of the ACS. Her election was announced at Clinical Congress 2023 during the Annual Business Meeting of Members, where the First Vice-President-Elect and Second Vice-President-Elect also were announced.
“I want to thank everyone who considered me worthy of becoming your President-Elect,” said Dr. Sutton. “I arrive to this moment having been buoyed up and inspired by the hard work and dedication of scores of surgeon colleagues and ACS staff members whose accomplishments greatly exceed mine. With your continued support, I will do my best to continue to advance the goals of the College.”
When Dr. Sutton was a young girl, her great-aunt gifted her a book about how the human body worked, which included detailed pictures and descriptions. After that, she sought out books about nurses and doctors, especially biographies. With her interest growing, Dr. Sutton suspected that she would pursue a career in medicine, but it wasn’t until after she viewed a case in the operating room as a medical student that she knew she was going to be a surgeon.
Dr. Sutton, who practices in Wichita Falls, Texas, earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed her residency at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas.
An ACS Fellow since 1984, Dr. Sutton has held several leadership roles within the College. She was a member of the Board of Regents (BoR) from 2012-2021 and is a Past-Chair. She also was a member of the Board of Governors (BoG) Executive Committee from 2008 to 2010, and a Governor-at-Large for the North Texas Chapter from 2004 to 2010.
Dr. Sutton is currently serving or has served on several ACS committees, including the Committee on Healthcare Disparities, Committee on Professional Opportunities for Senior Members, Advisory Council for General Surgery, Committee on Transition to Practice (Mastery in General Surgery), and Committee on Preceptorship for Practicing Surgeons. In addition, she is a faculty member for the ACS Surgeons as Leaders course.
Beyond her roles with the College, Dr. Sutton is an American Board of Surgery Director, a past-president of the Texas Surgical Society, and a past-president of the Association of Women Surgeons, as well as a member of several other healthcare organizations.
Vice-Presidents-Elect
Nancy L. Gantt, MD, FACS, a general surgeon who is co-medical director of the Mercy Health Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and professor of surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, is the First Vice-President-Elect. A Fellow of the College since 1992, Dr. Gantt has served in several ACS leadership positions, including Vice-Chair of the BoG Executive Committee and Diversity Pillar Lead. She also currently is part of the ACS Aspiring Leaders Program and a member of several ACS committees, including the BoR Antiracism Committee, Patient Education Committee, and Advanced Curriculum in General Surgery Steering Committee. For the ACS Ohio Chapter, Dr. Gantt is a member of the Medical Education Committee, Annual Program Committee, and Advocacy Committee.
Dennis H. Kraus, MD, FACS, executive medical director of oncology and enterprise within the Centura Health in Centennial, Colorado, is the Second Vice-President-Elect. A head-and-neck oncologic surgeon, Dr. Kraus has been an ACS Fellow since 1994. He is a member of the ACS Program Committee and has served the College on the BoG, American Joint Committee on Cancer, Commission on Cancer, and Patient Education Committee. He also was Chair and Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council for Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Vice-Chair of the BoG Patient Education Pillar. A long-standing innovator and leader in the field of head-and-neck oncologic care, Dr. Kraus has provided several innovations in the field of head-and-neck oncologic malignancy that have been associated with decreased morbidity and improved cosmetic and functional outcomes for patients.
