Russ Blackwelder, MD, MDiv, CMD is Director of Geriatric Education, Community Geriatrics Section Head, and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He also serves as Co-Medical Director for The Village at Summerville, a local continuing care retirement community. He graduated from medical school and residency at MUSC and is a Certified Medical Director (CMD) through the American Medical Directors Association. He has won the family medicine residency program's top teaching award and been nominated multiple times for the MUSC College of Medicine's highest teaching honor. The author of multiple peer-reviewed publications, he also serves as a Board Review Faculty focusing on Geriatrics for the American Academy of Family Physicians Board Review Course. While directing the Geriatrics curriculum for the MUSC Family Medicine Residency since 2015, he has mentored seven graduates who have been accepted to Geriatric Fellowship training. Dr. Blackwelder completed undergraduate education at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, a Master of Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga, and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). His clinical interests include Geriatrics, Geriatric education, Palliative Care, and the role of physicians in society.