MVHS announces four new board members

UTICA — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) recently announced it has appointed four new members of its board of directors: Waleed Albert, Catherine Brownell, Alicia Marie DeTraglia, and Karen Leach.

Waleed Albert, M.D., is a board-certified physician and chairman of the Antibiotic Stewardship committee for MVHS. Dr. Albert earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine of Damascus University in Damascus, Syria. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Trenton Affiliated Hospitals in Trenton, New Jersey, and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Albany Medical College and the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. 

Catherine Brownell, Ph.D., is a tenured associate professor of nursing at Utica College, where she currently serves as director of nursing programs and associate dean of health professions and education. Prior to teaching at Utica College, Dr. Brownell was a nursing instructor at Syracuse University and a public health nurse with the Visiting Nurses Association. She received her master’s degree in nursing from Syracuse University, and her doctoral degree in nursing from Binghamton University.

Alicia Marie DeTraglia, M.D., is a private practitioner in hematology and oncology with Atul Butala, M.D., and Samir Desai, M.D., in Utica. She previously worked as an attending physician in hematology oncology at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, also in Utica. Dr. DeTraglia is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. She completed her undergraduate degree at Hamilton College in Clinton, and received her medical degree from Albany Medical College. 

Karen Leach is the VP for administration and finance at Hamilton College in Clinton. She previously held the position of associate provost and chief information officer at Colgate University in Hamilton. Leach received her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, and her MBA degree from Syracuse University. She was a Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare board member from 2009 to 2014.