DOM Staff Spotlight: Leigh Partington, Senior Marketing Manager, General Internal Medicine

The focus of this DOM Staff Spotlight is Leigh Partington, Senior Manager of Marketing for the Division of General Internal Medicine, the Primary Care Consortium, and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. She also supports faculty development and manages internal and external communications. Below, Leigh shares with us information about her background, her favorite hobbies, and her favorite beach!  

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Tell us about yourself. Where are you from?
I’m an Atlanta native, born at what is now Emory Decatur Hospital. After high school, I lived in Virginia, New York, and Montana before returning to Atlanta. I live in Lilburn with my husband. We have two daughters, a senior at Agnes Scott and a recent Emory grad who works for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

What is your professional background? I have an MFA in creative writing from University of Montana and a PhD in English Literature from Emory. I spent 12 years raising my two daughters before returning to Emory as staff at the School of Medicine. I’ve had wonderful mentors and colleagues at the SOM who have helped me thrive in my roles here.

What is your role at Emory?
Faculty development support (promotions, clinical distinctions, and editing/writing services) and internal and external communications for the division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine, the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and the Primary Care Consortium. What do these organizations have in common? They are all led by Dr. Ted Johnson.

How long have you worked in the Department of Medicine?
I started in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in 2014 as an ETS employee supporting the Grady section, and I was hired full-time as a writer in 2015. My responsibilities expanded to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and the Primary Care Consortium in 2017.

What are you currently working on? Any upcoming projects?
We have three fantastic events coming up in the next few weeks. Something totally new is the Paul W. Seavey lecture series sponsoring a September 24 screening of the documentary The Only Doctor and followed by a discussion with the filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi and main subject Dr. Karen Kinsell centered around the primary care provider shortage in rural GA. Register here. We also have two endowed lectures. Excellence to Eminence in Preventive, Primary, and Palliative Care on September 27 will feature Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, C.N.H. Long Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Management at Yale School of Medicine, where she serves as Associate Dean for Health Equity Research. Register here. The William T. Branch Jr. Innovations in Primary Care Lectureship on October 2 will feature Dr. Paul Williams, internist, clinician-educator, and founder and co-host of the podcast “The Curbsiders,” speaking on “Social Media and Medicine: Connectivity and Disconnects.” You can register for this event at Wild Heaven Beer West End Brewery and Garden here.

What do you like to do for fun outside of work?
If I’m not hanging out with family and friends, I’m probably curled up with a book. I love traveling, and I’m always up for a road trip in search of bookstores, brewpubs, and local crafts. If I’m headed to the beach, it’s New Smyrna, south of Daytona!