Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association Names Alumni Award of Distinction Winner

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Alumni Association will honor Dr. Jill Owens with the first-ever PBAA Alumni Award of Distinction for outstanding professional achievement and exemplary service to the community.

The award will be presented by Dr. Livingston Alexander, university president, and Stacy Sorokes Wallace, Esq., PBAA president and 2001 graduate, during commencement exercises on Sunday, May 2.

“As one of the most highly respected physicians in the region and one who gives freely of her time to those in need, I regard Dr. Owens as an easy choice for the award,” Alexander said. “As a four-year graduate of Pitt-Bradford, Dr. Owens is the perfect model for Pitt-Bradford college students seeking to find their way in a complex and personally challenging environment.”

Wallace said, “This year’s recipient has already achieved what many hope to accomplish in a lifetime. Dr. Owens is a stellar first recipient of this award because she has excelled in both professional achievement and community service aspects. It takes a special person to succeed in a professional career to the extent she has and at the same time give so much of herself to public service.”

Owens, an attending physician at Bradford Regional Medical Center, was nominated by Dr. Holly Spittler, associate dean of student affairs and director of career services at Pitt-Bradford.

“Dr. Owens has distinguished herself as an outstanding physician and superb leader within the medical community. Jill is also active in the Bradford and Pitt-Bradford communities,” Spittler said. “She gives freely of her time while balancing her many responsibilities as physician and mother of two boys.”

After graduating from Pitt-Bradford in 1993 with bachelor of science degrees in biology and chemistry, Owens attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed her residency at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, serving as chief resident from July 1999 to June 2000.

Owens’s professional achievements include serving as BRMC medical staff president from 2007-08, president of the McKean County Medical Society, delegate to the Pennsylvania Medical Society House of Delegates and young physician delegate to the American Medical Association. She was instrumental in developing an improved peer review system for the medical staff, and was chosen as one of seven outstanding Pennsylvania physicians awarded the degree of Fellow at the American Academy of Family Physicians’ 2008 Scientific Assembly in San Diego. In 2009, Owens was honored by the YWCA of Bradford as an Outstanding Leader.

Despite her busy professional schedule, Owens still spends plenty of time volunteering in the local community and beyond. She is an active member of the Pitt-Bradford Advisory Board, served on the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Board, and is the currently on the Board of the Upper Allegheny Health System. She has presented at several Pitt-Bradford events and recently developed a Community Board of Health for Foster Township. Owens has also recruited volunteers and led medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic for more than ten years.

During her time at medical school, she volunteered at the Birmingham Free Clinic providing health care to the homeless and the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Candidates for the Alumni Award of Distinction must have attended Pitt-Bradford, but may have moved on to graduate from other institutions. Candidates are evaluated based on their level of professional achievement and service to the community. Nominations can be submitted by any member of the Pitt-Bradford community, including alumni, faculty, staff, administration, students, and advisory board members.

For more information on the Alumni Award of Distinction, please visit www.upb.pitt.edu/alumni.aspx.