NCAPA is a leader. But we couldn’t do it without the PAs among us dedicated to leading the way.
Brandon Blank was born and raised in Colorado. He was very active in sports as a child, leading him to pursue an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. After undergrad, he intended to pursue his love of sports and exercise and moved to North Carolina to get a Master’s degree in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest University. After grad school, he took a job as an EMT for the county EMS system in Winston Salem. He thought the position would be a fun job that could end up teaching him many skills that he could use elsewhere in his personal life (backpacking, outdoor activities, etc.). During the years he spent on the ambulance, he was introduced to some PAs that encouraged him to apply to PA school, and the rest is history!
During Brandon’s time in PA school at Wake Forest University, he was introduced to both the Piedmont Association of Physician Assistants (PAPA) and the NCAPA. The program faculty encouraged students to get involved in PA organizations and leadership. Brandon felt the faculty at Wake is “second to none when it comes to a legacy of leadership at both the local and national level” and was inspired by watching them in their leadership and clinical/academic roles.
Brandon took several trips as a student to Durham to visit the NCAPA for leadership conferences and to Washington DC to attend AAPA advocacy events. The exposure to PA organizations through these trips set the stage for his personal trajectory as he realized the importance of leadership and giving back to the PA profession. He believes there are a variety of opportunities to help advance and/or advocate for the profession, as well as leading the way for the next wave of PAs.
Since graduating from Wake Forest in 2013 and starting to practice, Brandon has served on the PAPA board of directors in a variety of roles, including director at large, secretary, and, for the last four years, treasurer. He is passionate about PAPA and has been proud to contribute to an organization that provides so much CME and networking/fellowship to Piedmont PAs. This past year, Brandon felt that it was crucial that PAPA restart the then-latent Student Mentor Program. The Mentor Program had fallen into dormancy several years ago, even though PAPA now serves three different PA schools (Wake Forest, High Point, and Elon) and has many student members. Brandon had personally benefited from having a mentor as a student and felt it was imperative to get the program back up and running. He became chair of the committee that has now successfully restarted the program.
Brandon has worked clinically in the emergency department at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem since graduating PA school. When not busy working, he enjoys being with his wife Katie, son Merrick (5), and daugthers Dylanne(2) and Tenley (2 weeks!), as well as golfing and spending time with friends.
Brandon is a leader who is clearly dedicated to supporting and helping others. He is a PA leading the way!
