Who We Are
Program Director
Jake Anderson, DO. Dr. Anderson is a board-certified family physician and clinician educator, who is passionate about high value, patient-centered primary care, innovation in medical education, and developing community-centered programs. Prior to becoming program director, Dr. Anderson practiced both inpatient and outpatient medicine at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, while serving as a physician leader, core faculty member for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Family Medicine Residency and associate clinical professor in the department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Anderson completed his medical training at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine before returning home to Arizona for residency training, including as chief resident, at the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix Family Medicine Residency. He then went on to complete a junior faculty year and the Primary Care Faculty Development fellowship through the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix.
Since that time, he has held multiple clinical roles, including physician lead for the Banner Health Primary Care Hypertension workgroup. Dr. Anderson has served in both the undergraduate and graduate medical education environments, including as the graduate medical education chair of patient safety and quality improvement. He has And has vast program and curricular development experience, including through community-based health care pathway programs, such as Mini-Med School, a partnership with a local elementary school that provides medicine and health science-based lessons to sixth through eighth grade students. His scholarly work focuses on quality improvement, high value care, and evidence-based medicine; he is a contributing editor for the American Family Physician journal, where he helped found and continues to co-host the award-winning American Family Physician podcast.
His passion for teaching has been recognized through numerous awards including the Robert A. Price Faculty of the Year Award (2018, 2021, 2024) from the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix Family Medicine Residency, and the 2021 Faculty Preceptor of the Year Award from the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix Department of Family, Community & Preventive Medicine.
Outside of work, Dr. Anderson can usually be found enjoying the outdoors with his wife, Crystal, and two children, Liam and Milo, whether it be through backpacking the Arizona Trail or coaching on the Little League field.
Department Chair
Sharry K. Veres, MD, MHSM. Dr. Veres is the сhair of the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She has expertise in the development of health care innovations to serve inpatient and outpatient, rural, and urban underserved populations. She has experience in developing training for resident physicians, fellows and faculty in the skills needed to create innovative healthcare solutions.
Prior to joining the college, Dr. Veres served as the residency program director and medical director at St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, Colorado. She came to Phoenix after nine years in that role. In her time in Colorado, she developed six different fellowship positions, targeting solutions for clinical needs in both local and rural communities in the state. She has received AHRQ funding for a study evaluating stress with the use of electronic health record and messaging systems. She successfully served as a site principal investigator for COVID-19 clinical trials at her former hospital. As a result of those contributions, she received the Family Medicine Physician of the Year award from the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians.
Dr. Veres earned her MD at the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed her family medicine residency at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. She earned a master’s degree in Health Sector Management from Arizona State University.
As a new Chair at the University of Arizona, she has obtained HRSA RRPD grant funding and has started a rural family medicine residency training program, and has a further Family Medicine residency and OB and Community Medicine fellowship programs in development. She has assisted her department in acquiring over $3 million in grant funding for clinical, research and education programs.
Program Coordinator
Francena (Fran) Harvey. Prior to becoming program coordinator, Fran was a program coordinator with the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Internal Medicine Residency program and oversaw medical student rotations. Before starting with Banner Health more than 16 years ago, she had an extensive career with AT&T in various positions within the company, starting in her hometown of Chicago, and including work in multiple different positions in Denver and Phoenix. This included as a recruiter and test administrator that took her all over the US. After her time with AT&T, she worked as an account executive for a major radio station in Phoenix, and also for Club Med.
Fran’s passions center on helping others- volunteering rejuvenates her. Her work includes everything from the local Arabian horse show, the Herberger Theater, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, Build a Bed, Banner Children’s, and working with seniors, just to name a few things.
She has one son, whom she describes as kind and caring and whom she adores. And she describes herself as a “dancerholic” and music lover.
She is so excited to be a part of the growing family medicine team in the East Valley and the new and innovative adventures that are ahead for the community.