About Us
ALICIA KOWALSKI, MD, CWO, CPE
Working as a full-time board-certified clinical anesthesiologist and fulfilling various leadership roles in an academic medical center for over 30 years, Dr. Kowalski has garnered an exquisite insight into the changing landscape of medicine. Her passion lies in promoting and supporting professional engagement and career sustainability for individuals and organizations in healthcare. This fervor led her to obtain her Chief Wellness Officer certification from Stanford, and her Coaching Certification through Coach Rice, a partnership between MDACC and the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University, with accreditation from the International Coaching Federation
On a national level, Dr. Kowalski participated in the Veterans’ Administration Executive Management Fellowship through Congress as a mentor to establish Chief Wellness Officer’s at numerous VA locations across the country. Recently, her nomination to the National Academy of Medicine resulted in appointment to a committee working on wellbeing in medicine. She also serves as the lead instructor of the Chief Wellness Officer Training and Certification Program through a collaboration with The Institute of Physician Wellness. Additionally, she is a prolific international speaker and leader in this realm, having helped countless around the globe.
Learn More About Dr. Kowalski
Dr. Kowalski founded and chairs a national symposium, Burnout to Brilliance, a CME-accredited conference for Physician Wellbeing and Career Sustainability, which earned Congressional Recognition. She and her sister founded the Charles S. DeJohn, MD, PhD Scholarship fund for physician Chief Wellness Officer certification for wellness and career sustainability. She also served an advisor to the charity her sons co-founded, Kids 4 Kids With Cancer, which awarded close to $100,000 to survivors of childhood cancer. Aside from her clinical work at the University of Texas MD Anderson, Dr. Kowalski served as the sole Clinical Faculty Representative to the institutional council CREWS (Career Resiliency Engagement Wellness & Sustainability) during its entire existence, and helped implement a robust infrastructure to support professional wellbeing across all communities. She served as the University of Texas MD Anderson liaison to the University of Texas System Task Force for Physician Wellbeing. In her free time, she enjoys doing artwork and was the 2019 Physician Spokesperson for The Arts of Healing. Most of all, she enjoys time with family: her husband of over three decades and her two adult sons.
Additional training Dr. Kowalski has undergone includes:
- Chief Wellness Officer Certification through Stanford University
- Coaching Certification through Coach Rice, a partnership between MDACC and the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University, with accreditation from the International Coaching Federation
- Physician Executive Certification through the American Association for Physician Leadership
- Women in Healthcare Leadership Certification through Harvard University
- Physician Leadership and Medical Management Certification through the American Association of Physician Leadership
