GME Leadership

Debby Carlson, MD, FACP

Interim Designated Institutional Officer & Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Debby Carlson is excited to step into the role of Interim Designated Institutional Officer (DIO) following the retirement of Dr. Sam Small, who led the Department of Graduate Medical Education from its inception in 2013. A native of Southern California, Dr. Carlson attended Tufts University in Massachusetts before returning home to attend medical school at the University of Southern California. She completed both her Internal Medicine residency and her chief residency at what was then known as LA County-USC Medical Center. Dr. Carlson practiced traditional Internal Medicine in Ventura for five years, caring for patients in her office, at the hospital, and in skilled nursing facilities before becoming a hospitalist at CMH, where she continues to work today with Pacific Inpatient Physicians.

Dr. Carlson is deeply involved in CMH and has held several leadership positions, including Chair of Medicine and Chief of Staff. She developed the Inpatient Division and served as its first Chair. Her decade-long commitment to patient engagement has earned CMH recognition as one of the top decile hospitals in the nation for two consecutive years. As Chief of Staff, she initiated the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and EMPOWER committees to support the well-being of physicians. Passionate about education, she also served as the Program Director for the Internal Medicine residency program for ten years before stepping down to become CMH's Lead Chief Medical Officer.

An enthusiastic USC fan, Dr. Carlson enjoys attending their football games. She participates in fantasy football with friends and family and serves as the Commissioner of her league. In her leisure time, she loves reading mystery novels and spending time with her husband, Scott, their two sons, their grandson, and their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Niki.

Alberto Kywi

Administrative Director of Graduate Medical Education

Alberto Kywi graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Master of Biomedical Engineering with an emphasis on hospital systems. He spent the first ten years of his career as Director of Management Engineering at various health systems, followed by a 25 year career in healthcare information technology, culminating with his retirement from Cottage Health System in Santa Barbara as a Vice President of Information Technology and CIO in 2015. In 2017, he was recruited as Administrative Director of Graduate Medical Education at Community Memorial Healthcare.

Michelle Azimov, MD

Director of Medical Education

Dr. Michelle Azimov graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She received her MD from University of Michigan Medical School. She earned membership in Alpha Omega Alpha and graduated cum laude in 1997. She completed residency training in internal medicine at University of Michigan Medical Center and is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. She has worked as a hospitalist in private practice, as hospitalist teaching faculty at Ventura County Medical Center, as Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine residency at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, and as the Institutional Educational Officer for Community Memorial Healthcare, where she is currently Director of Medical Education. She currently practices as a hospital medicine consultant caring for hematology-oncology inpatients. She loves teaching residents and has contributed to publications for several medical publishers, including MedStudy and Tarascon. She enjoys learning languages and speaks conversational Spanish. She also likes to read mysteries, watch movies, travel, bake, and spend time with her family.

Connie Patterson

Senior Director of Operations

Connie Patterson is our Senior Director of Operations. She started her career as a medical office manager and has over 30 years of experience managing clinics. She planned for and opened our first residency clinic and has grown our resident clinics to six clinics plus an urgent care clinic. She is well-versed in state licensing requirements and leads all CMH outpatient clinics.

Jessica Holt, MSW

GME Operations Manager

Jessica Holt is a dedicated Graduate Medical Education (GME) Operations Manager with a strong background in healthcare communication and social work. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Communication from California State University Channel Islands and a Master of Social Work from California State University Northridge. Since joining the department in 2017, Jessica started as the Program Coordinator for the Family Medicine Program before advancing to her current leadership position. She is also an Associate Clinical Social Worker actively working toward her LCSW. Jessica’s passion lies in integrating her expertise in education, healthcare, and social work to support the growth and development of medical professionals.