Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C

President and CEO; Professor and Former Dean

Dawn Morton-Rias was appointed President & CEO of the National Commission on
Certification of Physician Assistants in 2014, and is a non-voting member of the NCCPA
Board of Directors.
She is a long-time PA educator and former PA program director. Prior to joining NCCPA,
she served as a Professor and Dean at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where she still
serves on faculty. Morton-Rias has practiced in family medicine, addictive medicine,
gynecology and acute care for the homeless.
Morton-Rias has served as President of the Physician Assistant Education Association
(PAEA); appointee to the HRSA Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care
Medicine and Dentistry; appointee to the Federation of State Medical Board’s Education
Committee; Advisor to the National Health Service Corp; and Commissioner on the PA
Accreditation Commission.
She has been the recipient of a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant award and the
recipient of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health’s Leadership Award.
Morton-Rias earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stony Brook University and a
Bachelor of Science and Physician Assistant Certificate from Howard University. She
completed a Professional Diploma in Instructional Leadership and earned a Doctorate of Education from St. John's University.