Jonathan Sobel, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, has been a leader and advocate for the physician associate profession for more than three decades. He currently practices Cardiology for Northwell Health based in New Hyde Park, NY caring for patients with advanced heart failure. He is the former vice president of Human Resources for Strategic Workforce Planning for Northwell; an inaugural role that he held from 2022 through mid-2024. In this position, the primary focus of Sobel’s work was to ensure that Northwell had qualified people with the skill sets necessary to meet the current and future needs of the patients and community Northwell Health serves. Additionally, he oversaw recruitment, compensation, fair employment practices, succession planning, career development and workforce analytics for the organization.
Dr. Sobel grew up in Long Island, NY and developed an interest in science through interactions with his father, a NYC Department of Education science teacher. He attended SUNY Binghamton where he served as the Executive Director for Harpur’s Ferry, the University’s EMS squad. It was here that he met PA Alfred Pacifico, a former member of the squad who first told him about the PA profession.
Dr. Sobel received his Bachelor of Science degree in PA Studies from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1991. He then started his career as a cardiothoracic surgery PA – a member of the highly skilled teams of surgeons, cardiologists, PAs and nurses at Cohen Children’s Medical Center – caring for pediatric open-heart surgery patients. He moved to several adult CT Surgery positions where he helped to advance new techniques in coronary bypass conduit harvesting. In 2001, Sobel served as a PA in the National Disaster Medical System and in this capacity, responded to the World Trade Center attack. In 2002, he joined the CT surgery team at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center where he was the supervising PA. He received leadership training through Northwell’s Center for Learning and Innovation and completed his MBA in Quality Management through the Northwell-Hofstra University partnership.
After twenty years of clinical practice, he worked for the next decade in clinical operations at Northwell, serving as the Sr. Director for PA Services at the three Manhattan campuses of Lenox Hill Hospital and later at North Shore University Hospital where he worked with hospital and system leadership to support clinicians as they cared for community members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2018, as a member of the inaugural class, Sobel earned his Doctor of Medical Science degree from the University of Lynchburg.
Jonathan Sobel has been a member and distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Associates and is a past president (2018-2019). Prior to his presidency, he served as Secretary-Treasurer and Chairperson of the Commission on the Health of the Public. During his presidency of the Academy, the first state (North Dakota) in the nation, achieved full practice authority for PAs. He led the effort toward changing the name of the profession by commissioning an independent firm (WPP) to study the professional name and make recommendations to the HOD which subsequently adopted physician associate as the professional title.
He has served for a decade in a variety of leadership positions within the Association of PAs in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (APACVS), where he is a past president (2010-2012) and a fellow. Dr. Sobel is currently serving as the immediate past president of the New York State Society of PAs (NYSSPA) where he has been focused on achieving full practice authority and title change for PAs in NY. Dr. Sobel also serves in the HOD as a delegate and former Chief Delegate for NY. Most recently, he, joined the board of the Nassau Community College Foundation.
Dr. Sobel lives in Long Island, NY with his wife, Lisa, and has three adult children. He is an avid boater and served on the board and as Commodore of the Freeport Yacht Club. He is a member of the Rockville Centre Fire Department.
Acknowledgments:
This biography was written by Jonathan Sobel with the assistance of William Kohlhepp and was submitted to the Society in January 2026. Photographs are courtesy of Dr. Sobel.
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