Redwood City ob-gyn Tanya W. Spirtos, M.D., today was installed as the 155th president of the California Medical Association (CMA) – only the fourth woman to hold that position – at the close of association’s annual House of Delegates meeting.

“Serving an organization that represents the very heart of our states health care community, is a role that I take on with a deep sense of gratitude and humility,” Dr. Spirtos said in her address to the delegates. “I am mindful that I stand on the shoulders of pioneering women who shattered glass ceilings and blazed trails in the medical field. I am awed by the special responsibility I hold to empower the next generation of women physicians and leaders.”

Dr. Spirtos is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in full-time practice in a group of six physicians now part of foundation model Packard Medical Group/Stanford Medicine. She is also on the active medical staff of El Camino Hospital and Sequoia Hospital. 

Dr. Spirtos earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and her medical degree at Northwestern University Medical Center. She completed her residency at Los Angeles County Medical Center/ University of Southern California and is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

She was a member of the Board of Trustees of Sequoia Hospital Systems from 2003-07 and served on the Community Board of Directors of Sequoia Hospital from 2007-15. She has also been an adjunct clinical faculty of Stanford University Medical School since 1995, with an academic appointment as adjunct clinical assistant professor from 2006-14. Since 2010 she has served at the Arbor Free Clinic with the Stanford medical students and has been recognized for exemplary contributions in teaching. Despite this—and her participation on various health boards—she receives 100% of her compensation from patient care.

Dr. Spirtos has been a member of the CMA and AMA since 1985, and is a member of both the San Mateo County Medical Society and Santa Clara County Medical Association—the latter of which she served as president from 2005-06. She was elected to the CMA Board of Trustees in 2009 and continues to serve on the CMA delegation to the AMA. Since 2016, she has served on the CMA Executive Committee, first as vice speaker of the House of Delegates, then as speaker, and most recently as president-elect. 

She lives with her husband Elias Eleftheriades in Redwood City, where they are both active in the Greek community and culture. Her children, Michael and Alexandra, born in 1989, have grown up surrounded by the practice and profession of medicine. Alex followed in her mother’s footsteps, now practicing as an ob-gyn oncologist in Las Vegas; Mike is a lawyer with Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton in New York City in the division of Mergers and Acquisitions.

The full 2023-2024 CMA Executive Committee includes:

• President: Tanya W. Spirtos, M.D., Redwood City
• President-Elect: Shannon L. Udovic-Constant, M.D., San Francisco
• Chair of the Board: Sergio R. Flores, M.D., San Diego
• Vice-Chair of the Board: Eric Hansen, D.O, Hesperia
• Speaker of the House: Jack Chou, M.D., Los Angeles
• Vice-Speaker of the House: George Fouras, M.D., Los Angeles
• Immediate Past President: Donaldo Hernandez, M.D., Santa Cruz