Achievement Day Highlights 2026

Emily Abdoler, M.D., M.A.Ed., is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a staff physician in Infectious Diseases (ID) and Medicine at the VA Ann Arbor Health System. She serves as lead of the ID/Microbiology course for medical students and received the Kaiser Permanente Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Pre-Clinical Sciences, the most prestigious teaching award given by the medical school.

Nationally, she is a leader within the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Medical Education Community of Practice. Her research interests lie in the areas of metacognition, and she is engaged in qualitative and multi-methods research projects at the intersection of these areas and education. Most notably, she has been involved in the majority of empiric studies examining management reasoning, the subset of clinical reasoning focused on testing and treatment decisions. She was selected for the 2025 National Academy of Medicine Diagnostic Excellence Scholars Program as well as other recognition as a medical educator.

While at Jewell, she was a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, Faculty Award winner, Rhodes Scholar finalist and the USA Today All-American Collegiate Academic Third Team. She earned degrees in Oxbridge Molecular Biology and bioethics, then completed a predoctoral fellowship in bioethics at the National Institutes of Health-Clinical Center and graduated first in her class from the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in ID at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as well as an advanced fellowship in Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research at the San Francisco VA Health Center. With an M.A. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, she is now a Ph.D. student in education through UCSF-Utrecht University.

Ashley Davidson is chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Black & Veatch, a consulting, engineering and construction company with more than 100 offices around the globe. She has more than 25 years of experience leading marketing, communications and client experiences for global organizations, specializing in building brands, accelerating growth, developing cross-industry solution portfolios and strengthening client relationships through client insight and omnichannel engagement. Her expertise spans physical and digital solutions, services and lifecycle marketing for technology, infrastructure, sustainability, energy, healthcare, med tech and health tech.

At Black & Veatch, she leads the company’s global marketing and communications strategy, amplifying its brand as a leader in human critical infrastructure while supporting commercial growth and client engagement across industries in power, water, data centers, industrial manufacturing, fuels and natural resources, and government and communities. Prior to Black & Veatch, Ashley served as vice president of marketing at Royal Philips (based in Boston and Amsterdam) leading its business-to-business marketing as well as its worldwide digital marketing center of excellence. Ashley spent more than 20 years at Cerner Corporation (now Oracle) growing its business into more than 30 countries, most recently serving as vice president of marketing and client experiences. 

She holds bachelor’s degrees in English and public relations from Jewell and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Kansas. 

Jason Houseworth is the chief product officer at benefitbay, a Kansas City–based healthtech marketplace enabling personalized healthcare benefits for the modern workforce. Before joining benefitbay, he served as chief product officer at BacklotCars, the digital wholesale automotive marketplace that became Kansas City’s largest venture-backed exit when it was acquired by OPENLANE. Prior to BacklotCars, Jason was CEO of FanThreeSixty, a predictive analytics and fan engagement platform. 

Earlier in his career, Jason was chief innovation officer at H&R Block, where he led product development for the omni-channel experience serving 21 million U.S. tax clients. He also served as president of H&R Block’s digital tax business, which served 7.4 million desktop and online software clients. Prior to H&R Block, Jason held senior technology leadership roles at Swiss Re (formerly GE Insurance Solutions) and began his career in consulting at Andersen/Accenture. He is the inventor or co-inventor on 13 approved patents. 

While at Jewell, Jason studied at Oxford University through the Oxbridge Honors Program. He also completed the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently serves on the Jackson Hewitt Board of Directors and has served on multiple civic and non-profit boards in Kansas City, including three terms on the Jewell Board of Trustees.

Mark and Karen Mathes

ECCO Select
Gautreaux Family Fund
​Gill Family Investments, LP​
Beth and Jason Houseworth
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation
Premier Network, LLC

Melanie and Russ Cline
Commerce Bank
Megan and Shane Davolt
Husch Blackwell, LLC
Kappa Alpha Order | William E. Dreyer & Friends
KPMG LLP
Michael Hodges Dermody, class of ’91 
Liberty Hospital
The Miller Group
S3
Steve and Sandra Stites
David and Julie Warm
Rick and SueAnn Wright
​Zahnd Family – Craig and Deana, Eric and Tracy

John and Melissa Dowling
Forvis Mazars
Tyler Griffin 
Hallmark Distribution Center
Jeff and Sarah Hon
ISSCO, Inc.
McConnell & Associates
Purple Hippopotamus – Andee Carr, Class of ’90
Jim Shoemaker
Spencer Financial Services
Rein Staal
Rob and Mary Thiessen

David and Amy Anderson
Bill and Linda French
Steve Hemphill
Barnett and Shirley Helzberg
Lynn and Carol Hogue
Kansas City Marriott Downtown
Jim and Marcia Pierce
Brian and Holly Place
Drew and Camille Van Horn
Charles and Loretta Hughes
Gene and Linda Voigts