Julie Reed, JD, after exemplary service as Executive Vice President of ISMA since 2016, plans to step down from her job next year, the organization announced Thursday.  

Sara Brown, MD, MS, Chair of the ISMA Board of Trustees, said the association will begin a search for a new executive vice president and that Reed will help with recruitment and onboarding efforts and remain in the post until a new executive vice president is chosen, likely in the spring of 2026.

“We are deeply grateful for Julie’s leadership, which has immeasurably strengthened our organization,” Brown said. “By prioritizing organizational health, she has advanced the well-being of our physicians, and ultimately the health of Hoosiers. The practice environment for Hoosier physicians is better because of her vision. Julie’s commitment to building relationships and encouraging collaboration has unified our medical community and will leave a lasting legacy.”
 
Reed said the decision to leave was hers, and she is looking forward to spending more time with her family before their older son goes to college.      

“You don’t get these days back, so I’m going to capitalize on them while I still can. We love watching our boys play competitive tennis, so I’m looking forward to being able to attend even more matches and tournaments before our younger son graduates in a few years. I was an athlete growing up, but the boys aren’t bashful about telling me that playing tennis isn’t my strength,” Reed said. “Always good to know your place, I guess.”       

Reed has spent 23 years at ISMA, first as the student law clerk when she was a night student at the IU-Indianapolis McKinney School of Law, then as General Counsel for a decade after working as a business litigator at the law firm Bingham McHale (now Dentons), and then as executive vice president for nearly 10 years.  

During Reed’s tenure, ISMA has built relationships across the state with stakeholders, and membership has grown by 20%, surpassing 10,000 for the first time in the association’s history, with membership among medical students and residents nearly tripling. ISMA restructured existing scholarship funds into sustainable, matched $1 million endowed scholarships at both the IU and Marian medical schools, which, along with the state’s GME program, will pay dividends for generations to come. The association revitalized its foundation and education program, building a first-of-its-kind CME mobile app that has now delivered tens of thousands of hours of opioid education.  

Under Reed’s leadership, policy work became a year-round activity with the new ISMA Pulse resolution commenting and implementation platform. And the association took advocacy to the next level, with the creation of the advocacy training program, the new Pints and Politics series, and the Patients Over Prior Authorization campaign. The association has successfully defended Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act at the Statehouse and in the courts, fought off scope of practice challenges, passed truth in advertising legislation, helped increase public health and GME funding and Medicaid reimbursement, and helped pass one of the most restrictive noncompete bans in the country.  

Reed also led the association through the pandemic, helping pass critically important COVID immunity legislation, which has already been successfully tested in the courts.   

“Julie’s tenure at the ISMA is distinguished by a rare combination of strategic vision, operational depth, and committed advocacy,” said ISMA President Ryan Singerman, DO, FAAFP. “She has molded ISMA into a nimble, member-centric organization – one that not only reacts to legislative and regulatory challenges, but proactively shapes policy, protects physician interests, and empowers its members with education, tools, and support. Under her leadership alongside the Board, the ISMA has markedly amplified its influence at the Indiana Statehouse, successfully securing multiple legislative reforms that protect access to care, defend physician practice autonomy, and sustain public health investments.”  

Singerman credited Reed with nurturing ISMA’s internal vitality by building systems to recruit new physician leaders, enhance member services (especially in legal support, wellness and education) and elevate the stature of organized medicine in Indiana.  

“Thanks to her steady stewardship, ISMA today stands as a stronger, more resilient, and more respected voice for physicians and patients alike across all 92 Indiana counties,” Singerman said.  

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity and to have had such tremendous support from so many ISMA physician leaders over the years. I will truly miss working with so many amazing physicians from around the state and our extremely dedicated staff,” Reed said. “It has been such an honor to serve ISMA, striving every day to help make Indiana one of the best states in which to practice medicine. The next strategic plan is in the works, and it will be our best yet. There are some really great things on the horizon for Hoosier physicians and patients. I can’t wait to watch them come to fruition.”