Latest / The SHEA Podcast / A Conversation with SHEA 2026 President Dr. Lisa Maragakis

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A Conversation with SHEA 2026 President Dr. Lisa Maragakis · The SHEA Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Shay's Podcast.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Christy Weinschild, Shay's Executive Director, and I'm very pleased to serve as today's moderator as we get introduced to Dr.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Lisa Mary Gakis, Shay's 2026 president.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Dr.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Mary Gakis is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Dr.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Mary Gakis is the Senior Director of Infection Prevention for the Johns Hopkins Health System and the hospital epidemiologist for the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: In these roles, she is responsible for the conceptualization, planning, implementation, and development of the Johns Hopkins Health System Infection Control and Prevention Program.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've had the pleasure of working with Dr.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Mary Gakis for years in many volunteer roles at SHA, and I can think of no one better to take on the SHA presidency next.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the SHA podcast, Dr.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Mary Gakis.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations again as you start off your year as president of SHA.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background in infection prevention?
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Christy, for having me.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want to start by saying how excited I am for the upcoming year and the opportunity to lead this wonderful organization for a brief time, and it's really an honor.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I am, as you said, infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've spent my entire career at Johns Hopkins ever since medical school and have really enjoyed my time in Baltimore and at Johns Hopkins, but I want to say how grateful I am to Shay for connecting me to colleagues across the nation and around the world.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's one of the best things about Shay is the community that it builds for us to really connect with our colleagues.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you asked me how I got started in infection prevention.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: It was really during fellowship that I discovered my love for infection prevention.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I was very fortunate during fellowship to participate in an outbreak investigation, and we actually found a point source.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, those of us in infection prevention know that that doesn't always happen, but it was a nice, exciting introduction to the field and the difference that we can make when we notice trends, notice patterns in the epidemiologic data, unusual, dangerous, multidrug-resistant organisms in this case, and then are able to find a point source and take action to prevent future infection.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that was my beginning in the field.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing it ever since, and and I just love it.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: So outside of that fellowship experience, was there another experience that you can share that has really had a significant impact on your journey in infection prevention?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, now that we're after the pandemic, you know, that leaps to one's mind.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but I would go back further and say that the most significant impact on my journey in infection prevention, I think happened over a number of years.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So when I think back to what really shaped my belief in the power of infection prevention, it is a hand hygiene initiative to improve adherence with hand hygiene at Johns Hopkins Hospital and working with my infection prevention colleagues and putting together the pieces of the program, of the initiative over a number of months and actually a number of years to truly change the culture of the organization.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I like to point to that hand hygiene initiative example for my own team members in infection prevention and for anyone who encounters frustration in trying to do this work because it really is work that happens over a long period of time.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are persistent and you have that long-term view and you keep putting pieces in place, you see the results.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then you can look back and realize the incredible power of what we do.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that happens when you see a whole organization embracing a new set of behaviors and really internalizing them and doing them without reminders.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so I point to that as really having a significant impact on how I think about infection prevention because it takes that strategic planning and it takes that multidisciplinary approach and persistence over time to really change a culture and protect patients and put the infrastructure in place to make sure that our patients are safe from infections.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: That was a great answer.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: How did you first get involved in volunteering at SHAE?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: You've had a lot of roles over the years, but what motivated you to continue on the leadership path to be president?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's a much bigger jump from sort of the normal volunteer route.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Christy, I mentioned earlier how much I value the community of colleagues at Shay.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I was very fortunate to become involved with Shay from the earliest times during my fellowship.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that it was really the people that drew me into volunteering.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So making those connections.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And my first role as a volunteer was on the guidelines committee.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I've just learned so much through these volunteer activities, you know, about how guidelines are created and all the complexity and considerations that are involved.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, just the excitement of being able to put something in place that changes not only infection prevention at one organization, but nationwide or worldwide when you create a guideline or you create, you know, a policy framework.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, made connections, as I said, with other colleagues through my role on the committees, and I think that was what really drew me to continue volunteering and to look for new opportunities.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: I was very fortunate to represent Shay as the liaison to the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee or HICPAC.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that was another step where Shay really facilitated making connections, professional connections for me, and in that case with my CDC colleagues and other liaisons in allied fields.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I find the volunteering extremely rewarding, both through the work that you can do and through the connections that you make.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what motivates me.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know that you know you just mentioned how rewarding you found it, but it is a balance, right?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: You have a lot of professional commitments on your plate.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you lead a whole department.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that there's a lot of people who are involved in Shea who are struggling with that personal, professional, how much to volunteer commitment.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Those looking to get involved in Shay in this way, do you have any tips or how you manage the balance between those professional and personal commitments that you make?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: That that is the million-dollar question.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's so difficult.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Work-life balance and balancing professional commitments.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: We could do a whole podcast on that.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess the one thing that I would say is wherever you can find synergy is one way to help maintain balance.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is, you know, activities specifically with regards to volunteering for Shay, activities that feed not only Shay as an organization, but also your own professional development, your own insights into the work that you're doing in your own institution, your own academic pursuits.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of overlap there.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I find that in infection prevention in general, you know, there's a lot of operational work that we do, but there's opportunity to overlap that with the academic pursuits and opportunities to publish and conduct research and investigation, new ideas.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, that's one little pearl that I would give, you know, in terms of managing the balance and creating space for volunteering is to view it in that way.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you know, one would hope that our members' home institutions would also recognize the value of that, so that it could be incorporated into kind of the work portfolio because it builds the skills and the connections and the professional standing of the individual members.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, I I think it's I think it's overlap.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then also, of course, with your own personal interest.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have members that love to do the journal club, and and that's aligned with their personal interest or the publications committee, you know, so that we there's a lot of opportunity and very diverse activities.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: So you can also think about what it is that you love to do, what it is that you need to learn about for your own professional development.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think the overlap that you pointed out is so beneficial because I think that really says that if you do one, it helps the other.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is a great tip for those looking to get involved.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: That you know, you can really commit at Shea and it'll help your professional life as well.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: That was I think really helpful for those looking just and struggling with that.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Just switching gears a little bit.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: The current healthcare landscape is changing a lot.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you see as the most significant challenge for Shea members in in 2026 as you are looking for how you're going to help position Shay to address, like what are what are top-of-mind ideas that you have looking forward to 2026?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, there's so many challenges.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's always challenges that we need to face, but certainly now we're facing a lot of challenges as a society and in our country and in public health.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, uh, you know, the the one word that leapt to mind as you were asking the question is disruption.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we're seeing in an incredible amount of disruption of a lot of the things that we relied upon, a lot of things that maybe we took for granted in public health, in infection prevention, in healthcare more broadly, in academic medicine.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of disruption going on, and we know that our members are experiencing that in healthcare, in their own organizations, in their own careers.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I see that as probably the leading challenge for our members and for our organization.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I would like to position Shay to help do whatever it is that we can do as an organization to support our members.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's why we're here.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: We are an association of our members, and our concerns should reflect the concerns of our members.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so that disruption that I alluded to is evolving rapidly.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so I can't point to one specific thing or I won't in this in this short conversation.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: But we're seeing new challenges evolve every day.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we need to be resilient, we need to be nimble, and we need to be ready to support our members and also lead.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: We are an association of members who are leaders.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: We are leaders in our own organizations, our own institutions, our own hospitals and settings, and so our association also is well positioned to be a leader in our own field.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think making sure that we have a voice weighing in on public policy, on public health, filling in where we can where there is a disruption or a lack of guidance.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so we are working, you know, on some projects to position Shay to be able to do that work as well.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So lots of challenges ahead, but I'm an optimist, so I view it as an opportunity and a challenge.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we we rose as an organization and as individual members to the challenge of the pandemic, and I think we'll meet this challenge too.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a super helpful and really optimistic answer because it's a framework, right?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's less of a what specific is going to happen because I think you're right, nobody knows.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: But the the framework that you've outlined, I think, will be real positive for Shay and our members.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Excited to see how we can put that into play in 2026.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: One last question.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: What is your vision for Shay as your tenure president?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: I know a lot of people come in to this role and they have some specific goals that they'd like to accomplish or initiatives.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything in particular you're thinking of?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, sometimes they get derailed by the challenges that we just talked about.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: So no way, we're not going to hold you to these, but just sort of is there anything you're really hoping to accomplish this coming year?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, as as we discussed in the last question, there are so many challenges that I do think this will likely be a year of resilience and response and a little bit unpredictable.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I will say, uh, I'll point to a couple of things.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: One is that it is time for us to uh write the next chapter of our long-term strategic plan.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so we will be doing that work and looking to members for their input about where the organization goes over the next five years.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: We always have a strategic plan, and it's just time to start working on the next one.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a great opportunity to really shape the future of the organization, of course, navigating the stormy challenges that we've talked about.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want to point to one other thing, and that is building our membership.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so a specific goal that we have set is a very ambitious, audacious goal of doubling our membership.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we have a different set of strategies that we are considering to do this, but I think one of the most effective ways will really be to motivate each of our members to do outreach to their colleagues to think and give us their best ideas about how to bring more members into the organization.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: It will help with the resilience and the response that we discussed today.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: It will also help with tackling the big challenges in infection prevention and shore the financial picture of our organization up as we navigate some of these challenges, but really bringing, you know, broadening the tent, bringing more people in and tackling all the work that we have ahead of us.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I love that you mentioned that.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's a really exciting opportunity, I think.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: And if for those, anybody who's listening to this who is interested in helping with this, uh, if you email info at shade-online.org, we can get you a code that you can share with uh your friends that you and colleagues that you work with to give them your discount to join as members.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and Christy, if I could just if I could just add, you know, one of my goals is to make it very clear to members what the value the value that Shape brings to each of the members and then enhancing that value by you know learning from members what it is that they need the organization to be, because we really aim to serve our members.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's not just about bringing in new new members and all for all the reasons that I mentioned, but also because it does bring value to our members.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to make sure that everybody knows that value, sees that value, and that we keep building on a value.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great point.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: And also, if anybody who's listening has ideas about values we should be adding as we embark on that strategic planning you were talking about, we would love to hear that as well.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think it's important for not only the board to have that vision, but for some of our members who maybe don't have a seat at the table to be able to express what would be meaningful for them that would really add that value.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a great transition.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for bringing up all those points.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that you were able to join us today and share your perspectives and experiences.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: This was a really great podcast, and I think it'll really start 2026 off in a positive light.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: I know we're all Shea's Shea staff, and the volunteers are excited to work with you.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm really looking forward to it, and thank you for having me today.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this concludes this episode of the Shea Podcast.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for tuning in.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: And again, if you have anything to share, please email us at infoshay online.org.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, everybody.