Get to know the interesting and diverse individuals whose dedication, commitment, hard work and energy keep the AMA running. Read about their experiences, get a sense of our culture and get a glimpse of your potential future colleagues, the diverse individuals that make up our AMA.
May 2026 feature
Samantha Lewin-Smith—Program Manager, Professional Satisfaction/Practice Sustainability (PS2)
Q: How would you describe your role at the AMA? What is a “Day in the Life”?
A: I am the program manager on the Practice Sustainability team, focused on the Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) initiative at the AMA. This includes the management of the BHI Collaborative and, depending on project focus, I am either working on BHI-related resources and marketing, meeting with BHI-stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs), managing SMEs and BHI Collaborative membership, or strategizing how to make whole person health the standard in healthcare (not the exception). No two days are ever the same!
Q: Tell us about the team you work with at the AMA.
A: We are small but mighty! The BHI Initiative grew out of our value-based care work that we started eight years ago, and we have taken the conversation from “why is BHI important and how do I get started” to “behavioral health is important and how do I sustain this in practice?” To keep up with the needs of physicians, we have put together an educational webinar series and produced a comprehensive nuts and bolts guide on BHI with additional deeper drive resources on topics such as psychopharmacology, care for substance use disorder and suicide prevention. We’ve tested implementation in physician practices through our BHI Immersion Program and continue to manage and work with the BHI Collaborative with our eyes on continuing to expand integration across care settings. It’s impressive how this body of work has grown from our original team of two!
Q: What qualities do you think make up an effective leader?
A: While there are many qualities to describe an effective leader (integrity, emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, trust, etc.), I believe the one I have found to be the most effective is the ability to listen. First, listen more than you speak, and second, listen for understanding instead of listening to respond—it’s a very different skill set.
