Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP

Tochi Iroku-Malize, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP, a family physician on Long Island, New York, is board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The AAFP represents 130,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. As AAFP board chair, Iroku-Malize advocates on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.

Iroku-Malize serves as founding chair and professor of family medicine for the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead, New York, and senior vice president and chair of the family medicine service line for Northwell Health. In this role, she oversees four family medicine residency programs and three fellowships, with nearly 100 residents, 380 medical students and over 500 family physicians spread across 22 hospitals.

She was previously the director of the family medicine residency program at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, New York. She was active in the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, which presented the Silver Program Director Recognition Award to her in 2015, and the North American Primary Care Research Group. She is currently a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, having received an advocacy award in 2023, and is active in the Association of Departments of Family Medicine.

A member of the AAFP since 1999, Iroku-Malize served as a New York State alternate delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates from 2016 to 2017, and New York State delegate to the National Conference of Special Constituencies from 2006 to 2009. She served on the Commission on Membership and Member Services and the Commission on Continuing Professional Development, for which she chaired the Subcommittee on Continuing Credit and Accreditation. She served as the chair of the Maternal Morbidity & Mortality task force led by the AAFP.

At the state level, Iroku-Malize has served the New York State Academy of Family Physicians in various leadership roles including vice president, president-elect, president and board chair.

Internationally, she is a member of and delegate to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) and served on the Committees on Health Informatics and Medical Education. She received the 2018 Global Health Service Award from the Dr. Almanzar Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on providing medical care to low-income individuals in the Dominican Republic and Latin America.

Iroku-Malize earned her combined bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Nigeria College of Medicine and Dentistry in Enugu. She completed an internship at Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago and completed residency training in family medicine at Southside Hospital. She earned her Master of Public Health in health policy and management from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. She earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

She is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and also is certified in hospice and palliative medicine. She has the AAFP Degree of Fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.