AO NA Executive Council

Milton Lee (Chip) Routt, Jr., M.D. is the Dr. Andrew R. Burgess Endowed Chair and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at The University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, The Texas Trauma Institute, and Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center. He currently serves as the President of the Surgeon’s Council and Chairman of the Quality Assurance Committee, and on the Medical Executive Committee at Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center. Dr. Routt is a native of Chappell Hill, Texas, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Texas A&M University. Following medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, he completed a Surgical Internship and Orthopaedic Residency at Vanderbilt University. His Orthopaedic Traumatology fellowship was at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center. He remained there as faculty from 1989 through 2012. Dr. Routt has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and other educational contributions including book chapters. He is best known as a tireless and devoted physician-surgeon, and passionate teacher. Dr. Routt has received a variety of awards including the 2024 AONA Educator of the Year, 2019 Leonard Tow Award for Humanism and Education, the 2019 James Red Duke Physician Leadership Award, 2018 MHH Physician of the Year, Orthopedic Resident Teaching awards at UT Houston and the University of Washington, and the Jack McDaniels Traveling Fellowship. Dr. Routt is an Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus of UTMB and a Distinguished Alumnus of Brenham High School. He has directly mentored, educated, and hosted hundreds of Orthopaedic Traumatologists from the United States and Canada, and from across the globe. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his work with pelvic and acetabular injuries. Dr. Routt is an AO North America past President. He is a member of the Orthopedic Trauma Association, the AO Alumni Association and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, among others. Dr. Routt is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons.

After having spent over 20 years in education at two different teaching centers, Dr. Cunningham recently entered private practice in Waco, TX. Dr. Cunningham is a past president of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and is an AOCMF Educational Board member. His clinical interests include orthognathic surgery, facial trauma and reconstruction, and temporomandibular joint surgery. Dr. Cunningham is a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Dr. Klineberg is a board-certified Orthopaedic surgeon and Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the UTHealth Houston. He has a busy clinical practice which is focused on spinal surgery with cases that range from minimally invasive discectomies and fusions to complex spinal oncology and deformity reconstructions. Dr. Klineberg has specific expertise in deformity surgery and spinal trauma and has published multiple papers on deformity correction, outcomes research and complications as well as the biomechanics of spinal correction. His basic science research interests currently focus on the biomechanics of spinal fusion and fixation.

After obtaining a bachelor's degree from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, Dr. Crist earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, and a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the University of California-Davis. Dr. Crist is the Director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship, and the Vice Chairman for Business Development. He specializes in orthopaedic trauma/fracture care, limb deformity/nonunion/malunion, hip and pelvis reconstruction including total hip arthroplasty, and young adult hip disorders/hip preservation. Dr. Crist is a Tenured Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He has research interests in fracture care, nonunions, deformity, infections, anterior total hip arthroplasty, patient-centered outcomes and hip preservation procedures. From the beginning of his career, he’s been involved with AO and continues to enjoy teaching at AO events, participating in committee and leadership roles, and being a part of the AO Family.

Dr. Kerwin received her DVM from Texas A&M University, completed a small animal rotating internship at Louisiana State University and completed a small animal surgery residency at LSU along with a Master of Science degree in veterinary physiology. She is a diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (neurology). Her clinical and research interests involve orthopedics and neurology, with a special interest in fracture repair and spinal surgery, as well as feline orthopedics and neurology.

Doctor Roger G. Wilber graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1986, beginning his career in Family Practice. Following an internship at Highland General Hospital in Oakland California, he served as Lieutenant in the Alaskan Public Health Service for three years. An increased interest in musculoskeletal disorders inspired Dr. Wilber's return to training at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he completed an internship in General Surgery under the mentorship of Dr. John Border. His inclination to Traumatology was further developed through the close training and friendship of Dr. Lawrence Bone in the Department of Orthopedics at SUNY Buffalo. Dr. Wilber's primary focus became reconstruction of the pelvis and acetabulum, along with complex traumatic disorders and diseases of the hip. He completed a fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at Wayne State University under Drs. Jeffrey Mast and Keith Mayo, and has spent over 23 years as a Trauma and Adult Reconstruction surgeon at University Hospitals and MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the current Chief of both Adult Reconstruction, and Pelvic and Acetabular Surgery at MetroHealth. Beyond his post, Dr. Wilber continues to pursue interest projects in his field. He is dedicated to improving healthcare in developing regions, serving as a volunteer surgeon in Bhutan, and a visiting professor across the globe. He collaborates with various organizations in developing healthcare technology to improve standards throughout the medical practice and educational system. Dr. Wilber has contributed extensively to the AO Foundation, completing the Faculty, Chairman, and Leadership Education Programs. He has served as Chairman of the Faculty Education Program, and the AONA Education Committee. He currently serves as the Chairman of Trauma for AO North America, Trustee of the AO Trauma International Board, and Chairman of the Competence Training and Assessment Project for the AO Foundation, driving efforts to improve surgical training.