David M. Joseph MD – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer:

Dr. Joseph received a degree in biomedical engineering (with a minor in economics) from MIT, where he received numerous honors, including a faculty award as the top engineer in his class. As a Biomedical design engineer at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dr. Joseph spent seven years designing and developing medical products. Dr. Joseph received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and served a residency in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowships at both the MGH and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He is board certified in pain management as well as anesthesiology and critical care.

Dr. Joseph received his management training at the Sloan School of Management at MIT and the American College of Physician Executives. Dr. Joseph has also served as the Director of the Healthcare Division of an international consulting firm, and as Chief Medical Officer of four medical device companies. Dr. Joseph has published extensively in the field of medical management, served as a columnist for Healthcare Business Digest, been awarded advanced standing in the American College of Physician Executives, has been elected to membership in the Presidents Circle of the American Management Association, the steering committee of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and named as one of “America’s Top Doctors” in medical management.

Dr. Joseph has served on the finance committee of the Arizona Medical Association, as a Director of APAC, a medical malpractice insurer (subsidiary of FPIC, over $1B in assets; NASDAQ: FPIC), on the Executive Advisory Board of The Doctor’s Company (the nation’s largest physician-owned malpractice insurer, with $4B in assets and $1.4B in reserves), on the examining committee of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network ($157B in assets), on the Advisory Council for Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH, $55B in assets), on the Client Advisory Council for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS, over $800B in assets) and as a consultant to Deloitte-Touche and Johnson & Johnson. He has served as a managing partner of a small investment fund as well as a director, trustee, consultant or advisory board member for numerous organizations, ranging from hospitals to start-up companies to Fortune 500 corporations.

He is the inventor or co-inventor of over a dozen devices, is a founding member of the Desert Angels, and has been an advisor to the Tucson Technology Incubator and the Economic Development Council. He also serves on the Educational Council of MIT, the Advisory Board of the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, as an Advisor for the Harvard i-Lab, and on the Leadership Council of the Education Foundation. An avid international traveler, Dave is a member of the Century Club, having visited over 115 countries on all seven continents, and was appointed by Her Majesty, The Queen of England, as a Fellow of the Royal Overseas League.

Dr. Joseph joined SAA in 1989, and has served as CEO of SAA since 1995.


Screven Farmer, MD – East Division President:

Dr. Farmer was an undergraduate at Georgia Tech, where he swam competitively. He was a whitewater kayaker before anyone knew what that was. He earned his MD at Emory University, completed an internship at the University of Arizona, and residency at The University of Wisconsin. He has been with Southern Arizona Anesthesia for over 30 years and has occupied a number of leadership positions, including service on the SAA board of directors, Pima County Medical Society board, two terms as St. Joseph’s Chief of Anesthesia, and as Chief of Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital

He is a board member and past President of the Arizona Medical Association, and is President elect of the Arizona Society of Anesthesiologists. He also serves on the board of the Carondelet Foundation. He holds lifetime Board certification in Anesthesiology and recently completed voluntary recertification.

Dr. Farmer has been married to Terri Farmer for over 30 years. She is a doctorally prepared nurse practitioner who has her own practice with an emphasis on bariatric issues and adolescent and family mental health issues. They are proud parents of three adult boys. Dr. Farmer’s interests include health care policy, economics, and evolutionary biology. He is an avid scuba diver, hiker, skier, mountain biker, and occasional white water kayaker, martial artist, and swimmer.


Steve Brower, MD – West Division President:

Dr. Brower graduated summa sum laude from Northern Arizona University with a BS in Chemistry and a BS in Zoology. He earned his medical degree at the University of Arizona and completed his residency training in anesthesiology at the University of Utah. Dr. Brower was one of SAA’s founding partners, and has been in private practice in Tucson since 1985. Dr. Brower has served several terms as the Chief of Anesthesia at St. Mary’s Hospital, as well as serving on the Board of Trustees of St. Mary’s Hospital. He has also served numerous terms on the SAA Board of Directors, and the SAA Recruiting Committee, and currently as SAA West Division President. Outside of the OR, he is a passionate outdoorsman as well as a devoted grandfather.