Meet the ASLMS President and Program Chairs

Arisa E. Ortiz, MD
ASLMS 2024-2025 President
Director, Laser & Cosmetic Dermatology, Associate Professor of Dermatology, UC San Diego

Arisa E. Ortiz, MD is the Director of Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology and a Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego.  She received training in Mohs Micrographic Surgery at UC San Diego and also completed the prestigious cosmetic and laser fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Wellman Center for Photomedicine. Dr. Ortiz completed her dermatology residency training at UC Irvine and Beckman Laser Institute.

She has authored over sixty publications and several book chapters. Dr. Ortiz also coedited a textbook on surgical reconstruction. She has presented at international and national conferences and is frequently an invited speaker at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine and has won several awards, including the ASLMS Dr. Horace Furumoto Young Investigator Award amd ASLMS Best of Session Award for Cutaneous Applications, ASDS President’s Outstanding Service Award, Top Doctors Award, Exceptional Women in Medicine, and Newsweek America’s Best Dermatologists. She has also been featured on The Doctors & Dr. Pimple Popper. 

Dr. Ortiz has also served as the President of the San Diego Dermatologic Surgery Society and is currently President of ASLMS. Her research interests are in laser treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Jennifer L. Sawaya, MD
ASLMS 2025 Co-Chair
Center for Aesthetic and Laser Medicine

Dr. Jennifer Sawaya is a board-certified dermatologist and fellowship-trained cosmetic and laser dermatologic surgeon. She practices full time at the Center for Aesthetic and Laser Medicine in Scottsdale.

After attaining her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, Dr. Sawaya obtained her medical degree from the University of Nevada, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and graduated at the top of her class. Her postgraduate training included an internal medicine internship at Harvard Medical School, a dermatology residency at the University of Arizona, and a prestigious cosmetic dermatologic surgery fellowship at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital and the Wellman Center for Photomedicine. 

With her advanced training in cosmetic and laser dermatology, Dr. Sawaya specializes in cosmetic injectables and energy-based devices. In addition, she has a particular interest in surgical procedures including excisions and sclerotherapy. When it comes to skincare and beauty, she believes an integrative, holistic approach achieves the best results. She finds the ability to give patients increased confidence in themselves through combining scientific knowledge with artistic procedural skills the most rewarding part of her job.

Adam J. Wulkan, MD
ASLMS 2025 Co-Chair
Director of Laser & Cosmetic Dermatology at Lahey Medical Center

Dr. Adam Wulkan is a board-certified dermatologist and the director of the Laser & Cosmetic Dermatology Center at Lahey Health. He completed a prestigious fellowship in laser & cosmetic dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Wellman Center for Photomedicine. Dr. Wulkan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences. He received his medical degree from the University of Miami, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in his junior year. He subsequently completed an internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Dermatology, both at the University of Miami.

Dr. Wulkan has a passion for medical and cosmetic applications of laser and energy-based devices and has authored several peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters with a focus on treatment of scars.