Michael Tom named as new chair of the Yale Alumni Fund

Dr. Michael Tom ’83 M.D. was recently confirmed as the new chair of the Yale Alumni Fund board of directors. He will serve a two-year term that started July 1 and ends June 30, 2020. Tom has served as the vice chair of the board since July 1, 2016.

Jocelyn Kane, managing director of the Yale Alumni Fund, said she is thrilled to have Tom as the next chair: “Michael brings a unique perspective to all of his involvements with the Alumni Fund, given his background in medicine. He is the first chair to have a medical degree from Yale and is committed to seeing strong ties among Alumni Fund volunteers from the college, graduate school, and professional schools. I look forward to working with him and incorporating his ideas into our strategies over the next two years.”

Tom has a long history of volunteer service to both Yale School of Medicine and the Yale Alumni Fund. A class agent since earning his M.D., he was the chair of agents from 2006 to 2016, a member of the school’s alumni executive board from 2007 to 2016, and chair of his class’s 35th reunion. Within the fund, he has been a member of several workgroups, including those focused on leadership giving and graduate and professional schools volunteer efforts. He has served twice as a board member, first from 2005 to 2011 and then again from 2012 to the present. Tom received the Yale Alumni Fund Chairman’s Award in 2007.

A California native, Tom attended the University of Southern California, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude. He attended Yale School of Medicine and received the Upjohn Achievement Award in recognition of significant contributions to student affairs. He then completed two years of residency in surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Tom finished his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, including pediatric training at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and otology training with the House Ear Clinic.

In his role as Yale Alumni Fund board chair, Tom will be the key leader for over 2,300 Alumni Fund volunteers and a voice of the fund for all alumni. He will chair the Alumni Fund board of directors thrice-yearly meetings, convene the executive committee, and collaborate with the Alumni Fund staff to set the framework for fundraising priorities. He will also represent the Alumni Fund at the university level through attendance at meetings of the University Council, the Yale Development Council, and the Board of Trustees Committee on Development & Alumni Affairs.

A physician with ENT and Allergy Associates in Yonkers, New York, Tom is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the American College of Surgeons. He is chief of otolaryngology at St. John’s Riverside Hospital and is also on the medical staff at White Plains Hospital Center, New York Presbyterian-Lawrence Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Montefiore-New Rochelle Hospital, and Mount Sinai Hospital. He specializes in nasal and sinus surgery, with expertise in endoscopic sinus surgery.

“I am excited to take on the responsibilities of the Yale Alumni Fund chair,” Tom said. “I’ve had a great experience over the past two years as vice chair, and I look forward to continuing the work of my predecessors, members of the board, and all Alumni Fund volunteers. Over the next two years, I anticipate continuing to strengthen our combined efforts with the Yale Alumni Association, including the combined AYA Assembly and Alumni Fund Convocation event, launching a new online volunteer portal, and working to instill a sense of loyalty to Yale among my fellow alumni.”