Leocadia Conlon, PhD, MPH, PA-C is a multidisciplinary physician assistant/associate (PA) whose professional journey exemplifies the profession’s versatility and dedication to meeting unmet healthcare needs. With experience across hepatology, internal medicine, women’s health, maternal and child health, behavioral health, research, and education, Conlon has built a career guided by one constant principle: identifying and responding to gaps in care within the communities she serves.
Early Years:
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Conlon was the first in her family to attend college. Growing up in a blue-collar family at a time when college was less accessible to many, Conlon was determined to find her own path to higher education. Drawn by an interest in aviation and the opportunity for educational funding, she set her sights on the U.S. Naval Academy. She was accepted and attended from 1993 to 1995, but unexpected medical complications led to a voluntary discharge. Her first introduction to the PA profession actually came during a follow-up medical appointment, where she met a PA who had recently retired from active duty in the Navy.
Subsequently, Conlon enrolled at D’Youville College in Buffalo, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in PA Studies in 2000. Although Conlon had initially planned to pursue pediatrics, her obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) rotation changed everything. It was her favorite clinical experience, largely because her preceptor—who was from Kenya and held a Master of Public Health (MPH)—brought a global health perspective to her teaching. This approach planted the seeds for a lasting interest of Conlon’s: the integration of public health with clinical practice.
Clinical Practice:
After graduation, Conlon completed a year-long hepatology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. With a focus on the hepatitis C epidemic, Conlon viewed the fellowship as a way to begin to explore concepts in public health in addition to starting her clinical medicine career. At Johns Hopkins, she worked closely with gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatology fellows and residents and was soon giving grand round presentations, speaking nationally on hepatitis C treatment, and participating in clinical research as new medications were studied for chronic hepatitis C and chronic hepatitis B.
After her fellowship, Conlon was recruited to an internal medicine practice in Annandale, Virginia, where she was initially brought on to address a backlog of patients with elevated liver enzymes, both from hepatitis C and the newly recognized condition then called fatty liver disease. Conlon spent several years in practice at Annadale Medical Center where another gap was identified: women’s health. To address patient needs, Conlon trained in intrauterine device (IUD) placements, endometrial biopsies, and prenatal care in order to expand the clinic’s women’s healthcare services. She acknowledges the significant amount of support she had from her collaborating physician and PA colleagues, who became two great mentors and role models for Conlon.
Hawai’i:
In 2006, Conlon’s family moved to Hawaiʻi for the first time. Initially, she worked in emergency medicine at Tripler Army Medical Center and later returned to hepatology as a PA and clinical trial sub-investigator at The Liver Center at Hawaii Medical Center East in Honolulu. Concurrently, Conlon earned her Master in Public Health (MPH) with a focus on maternal and child health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2008. It was during this time that she became involved in one of her most meaningful public health projects. Through a connection made at Tripler, Conlon met Sneha Sood, MD, a neonatologist who wanted to establish neonatal resuscitation training teams on Oʻahu’s neighboring islands. Hospitals on these islands lacked providers capable of intubating neonates in emergencies. Sood had the clinical vision, and Conlon brought the grant-writing expertise from her MPH training at Johns Hopkins. Together, they co-founded the Hawaii Collaborative Health Initiative (HI-CHI), securing federal funding through a Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) grant to build the infrastructure for the training program. After a successful pilot, hospitals began investing directly. The initiative achieved its goal so effectively that the organization eventually dissolved its initial work, its mission complete.
Conlon’s clinical practice then shifted to align with her public health work and a community need for more women’s health providers. In 2009 she joined a colleague to begin a family medicine practice on Oʻahu with a focus on womenʻs health.
AAPA:
Leocadia Conlon’s family relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in late 2011, when a unique opportunity was presented to join the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) as a Science and Public Health Senior Fellow and later as AAPA Director of Quality Improvement (QI). As director of QI initiatives, Conlon led and received grant funding for initiatives that were meant to raise awareness among PAs and bridge gaps in knowledge and in care. Initiatives included: Caring for Veterans and Military Families, Quality Improvement in Diabetes Care, and PA Learning Communities: A Multi-Modal Knowledge Center and Learning Network Utilizing Project ECHO, which was AAPA’s first ever federally funded project with a grant from the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ).
PA Educator:
At this point in her career, Conlon’s work spanned clinical practice, clinical research, and public health both at local and national levels. This provided a strong background to teach the next generation of PAs. In 2013, Conlon transitioned into PA education at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, advancing from assistant professor to assistant director, and then associate director and director of didactic education. During this time, she also served as a PA, clinical advisor, and director of clinical services at Sinclair Health Clinic, a free medical clinic. At Sinclair Health Clinic, she built a hepatitis C screening and treatment program, as well as a women’s health program—both of which are still operating today. The clinic was an opportunity for Conlon to apply her two specialty areas in a low-resource setting. Additionally, Conlon supervised mental health and substance use counselors, as the clinic included a psychiatric and behavioral health component. During this time, Conlon pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Translational Health Sciences from George Washington (GW) University as part of the program’s inaugural cohort and graduated in 2021. Her work incorporated mixed methods research and implementation science, bridging her clinical experience, public health background, and research training. From 2018 to 2022, Conlon also taught as adjunct assistant professor in GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ PA Program and their Clinical Research and Leadership Department.
Return to Hawai’i:
In 2020, Conlon returned to Hawaiʻi and served as a health initiative specialist within the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) system and then the clinical director for Hawaiʻi Coordinate Access Resources Entry System (CARES), the state’s behavioral health network. This position involved integrating mental health and substance use disorder services and overseeing a 24-hour crisis hotline. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotline was also used for triage and isolation and quarantine coordination; Conlon was on call around the clock for Oʻahu that entire year.
In 2022, Conlon was offered an opportunity that would bring her career full circle: serving as founding program director of the Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU) PA Program—the first Hawaiʻi-institution-based PA program and the first PA program in a Native-Hawaiian-serving university. HPU had already launched the state’s first physical therapy and occupational therapy programs and envisioned a PA program to address the healthcare workforce needs of the islands. Conlon describes the work as demanding but deeply fulfilling. Beyond her roles as director and educator, she serves as an advocate for PA practice in the state, having held positions like Legislative Chair and President-Elect of the Hawaii Academy of PAs (HAPA).
Service and Volunteer Work:
Throughout her career, Conlon has remained actively engaged in professional organizations and scholarship. She has served as a clinical editor for the Journal of the American Academy of PAs (JAAPA). Additionally, Conlon has been involved with the American Public Health Association and the Hawaii Public Health Association, in which she served as chair of the Legislative Committee and director-at-large. Conlon’s scholarly work includes presentations at national and international conferences, peer-reviewed publications, and contributions to educational texts like The JAAPA QRS Review for PAs: Study Plan and Guide for PANCE and PANRE.
Reflections:
Reflecting on her career, Conlon identifies two key highlights: the mentorship she has received throughout the years and the founding of the HPU PA Program. From the GI fellows and residents who welcomed her as a colleague during her fellowship, to the internal medicine physician who became a father figure, to outstanding PA faculty at Shenandoah University and GW University, who exemplify excellence in education, Conlon says she has “stood on the shoulders of giants.” She is particularly proud that the HPU PA program is the first all-hybrid PA program in the nation, expanding access to PA education in a geographically isolated state. When asked what she finds most rewarding, Conlon speaks of the privilege of being present during critical moments in people’s lives, whether as a clinician caring for patients or as an educator guiding PA students. Overall, Conlon sees her career as a continuous response to need: filling gaps in hepatology and women’s health, building public health infrastructure for maternal-child health, integrating behavioral health services, and now preparing the next generation of PAs to serve Hawaiʻi’s diverse communities.
Personal Life:
Outside of her professional life, Conlon enjoys hiking, spending time at the beach, and paddling with her husband and two daughters. She remains deeply connected to the islands of Hawaiʻi she now calls home and to the profession she entered more than two decades ago: one defined not by a single specialty, but by the willingness to learn, adapt, and serve wherever the need is greatest.
Acknowledgements:
This biography was prepared by Phoebe Kubo with the assistance of Leocadia Conlon. It was submitted to the Society in January 2026. Photographs are provided courtesy of Dr. Conlon.
When using information from this biography, please provide the proper citation as described within the PA History Society Terms of Use.
To request the use of the photographs that accompany this biography, please contact the PA History Society to request permission as some photographs might have restrictions on their use.
