Since its inception in 2012, the Radiology Leadership Institute^® (RLI) has facilitated leadership training and professional development for thousands of radiologists. Through the RLI, radiologists can gain essential business skills needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing healthcare landscape.

One of the ways the RLI understands, recognizes, and promotes leadership among the specialty is through its awards, the most prominent being the RLI Leadership Luminary Award. “From its inception in 2012, the Luminary Award has recognized extraordinary leaders who embody the highest values of the RLI and whose lifetime achievements have had a significant impact on the field of radiology,” says RLI Chief Medical Officer Frank J. Lexa, MD, MBA, FACR. 

But embodying the highest values of the RLI doesn’t just mean your stereotypical leadership, says Lexa. “We have well over 30,000 radiologists in the United States, and many of them have leadership roles and are good leaders. But the values of the RLI ask you to do more — to be the kind of leader who brings out the best in people, leaders who can help manage good change.” And that means those who are truly great may not look like the leaders we normally think of. Lexa explains, “Luminary Award winners are not just people who have had important jobs, or published great research, but those who have selflessly given and served in radiology.”

Serving Others

Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS, FACR

Service has been a theme throughout the career of Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS, FACR. A 2023 Luminary Award recipient and executive vice president for health sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center, Beauchamp’s path to leadership started out with the desire to improve the world around him. “Leadership is often just raising your hand when you see something can be done better,” he says. “You don’t have to be the chair or vice chair; you just have to bothered when you see a process isn’t done as well as it could be and know you can be part of the difference.” 

During his fellowship at Johns Hopkins University, Beauchamp noticed how both patients and physicians seemed to be struggling because of existing processes and inefficiencies. His motivation to help led him to use statistical methods to improve access, remove inefficiencies and waste for patients, staff, and faculty, and ultimately lower costs. As a result, he was made vice chair of clinical operations. 

From there, the desire to improve the world around him motivated him to pursue other leadership opportunities and roles, both in and out of radiology. Beauchamp has served as department chair and as dean at several colleges and universities; launched wellness committees for students, faculty, and staff; founded a medical clinic offering free services; and ran the imaging portion of the largest epidemiologic longitudinal study in stroke and heart disease, uncovering previously unknown predictors of stroke risk.

“I’ve always had this sense of urgency; how could I bring about more effective change faster? Every position I’ve taken has been about helping people feel more supported, bringing people together, and building on trust and communication,” Beauchamp says. For Beauchamp, moving forward hasn’t been about the prestige gained, but the opportunity to do even more. “If I’ve done something and had significant impact as department chair, then how much more could I have in another position with a different scope?” he says.

Luminary Award winners are not just people who have had important jobs, or published great research, but those who have selflessly given and served in radiology.

Beauchamp also notes a lot of his work has been about acquiring the skills needed to make a difference. “My abilities as a leader have been about absorbing, integrating, and assimilating the skills of people throughout my journey. One of the things I’ve done is seek people who are getting things done and making an impact, whether it’s inside or outside of medicine, and regardless of whether they’re a department chair or janitor.”

Building a Community

Sarah S. Donaldson, MD, FACR

Sarah S. Donaldson, MD, FACR, Catharine and Howard Avery Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, Emerita, and former director of the mentoring program in the department of radiation oncology at Stanford, was not thinking of leadership when she began her career. “I didn’t know I was on a path to leadership — I was on a path to become a physician and do that job well,” she says. Despite this, Donaldson, recipient of the Luminary Award in 2014, has led many endeavors: Donaldson is former president of the RSNA, and was the first female president of both the ABR and the American Society for Radiation Oncology. 

Community has been an ongoing theme throughout Donaldson’s career. She credits it as the reason she became a leader. “Leadership came to me because I was in the right place at the right time, and because I had the right mentors who were putting my name forward,” she says. 

But community — bringing people together and helping others have a seat at the table — is also one of the reasons Donaldson leads. Donaldson helped build the pediatric cancer program at Stanford from the ground up, which required every specialty involved to work together. “You can’t cure pediatric cancer unless all team members are contributing. Radiation oncology, surgery, chemotherapy — none of that on its own is curative. You need everyone together, contributing and coming to a consensus,” she explains. 

Creating a community is also one of the things she’s most proud of as a leader. As one of only six women in her medical school class, Donaldson was no stranger to being one of the only women in her field. But as she rose through the ranks and first began participating in the ABR, she often felt like an outsider. “It was a lot of little cliques. All the men smoked and golfed, and since I did neither, I wasn’t included in anything beyond the meetings themselves,” she recalls. 

When she was elected president, she began changing that by organizing retreats where she assigned place cards so everyone sat next to someone they might not ordinarily interact with. “I made sure diagnostic radiologists sat next to medical physicists or radiation oncologists, so everyone had a chance to intermingle,” she says. As a result of this and other work, Donaldson was able to lift up others in the ABR who felt like a minority. 

Lighting the Way for the Next Generation

Lifting others up and creating a sense of community is one of the reasons the RLI Luminary Award is so important, says Beauchamp. “Awards such as these foster community. Just nominating someone is an important way to communicate that you see and appreciate the work they do,” he adds. 

Lexa notes the Luminary Award is a good way to pass success stories on and to inspire others. “We tend to think we know our leaders, but we don’t necessarily know how they got where they are, or what happened along the way at a deeper level,” he says. Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, FACR, CEO of the ACR, agrees. “In uncertain times, there is a great need for strong leadership — something that the RLI excels in cultivating. The RLI Luminary Award shines a spotlight on those who have already blazed the trail, inspiring all of us to reach new heights in our careers and our service to the field of radiology.”

That in turn can inspire others to follow similar paths. “People who may think they aren’t cut out for leadership can take a step back and say, this person seems a lot like me and they went on to do these things. Maybe I can too,” says Beauchamp.  It also broadens the scope of what people understand as impactful, he adds. “Awards like this remind us there are so many different opportunities in medicine to give back and create something meaningful, which is what leadership is all about in the first place,” he says.

About the RLI Luminary Award 

The Leadership Luminary Award of the Radiology Leadership Institute^® is intended to recognize and celebrate the lifetime achievements of professionals who have devoted the majority of their professional career to the science or practice of radiology or radiation oncology, embodying both leadership and innovation in their actions and legacy. For more information on award criteria and to see the list of past recipients, visit the RLI website. The 2025 nomination process opened in December 2024. Nominations are open until Feb. 7, 2025. If you have any questions, please email the RLI.

About the RLI

Now more than ever, radiology needs strong leaders to navigate current challenges and ensure future success. Explore how the RLI can help you build the leadership skills you need.