When G. Ray Callas, MD, was first elected president of the Texas Medical Association, he was moved by the trust his fellow physicians put in him to speak on their behalf and advocate for them.
“It’s an emotional high that I live on every day,” he said. “I try to be anywhere and everywhere I can be because I think it’s important that as president of Texas Medical Association, you’re out there talking about what we’re doing as an organization.”
Nowhere was that more apparent than his interactions with the legislature, and his eagerness to serve carried through his travels across the state on behalf of medicine, including with TMA’s inaugural Listening Tour.
No matter where Dr. Callas stopped, he found the integral issues most important to him – preserving physician-led health care and lobbying for payment sufficient for keeping practices viable – also resonated with the diverse group of doctors he met.
“We’ve learned that getting out into the streets, so to speak, spreads our news a lot better than us just sitting inside of a meeting room,” Dr. Callas said, noting that he met physicians on the tour who joined TMA after learning about all it offers.
“When you’re good at something, you usually don’t want to toot your own horn,” he added. “Whenever you go out and talk about what TMA offers, you even blow TMA members’ minds, because they don’t realize what all we provide to people, like CME, the Knowledge Center, and membership development.”
He believes increasing TMA’s membership will help physicians unify in what he considers its vital advocacy message – and help medicine’s standing with Texas legislators.
“Every physician in the state of Texas touches every voter,” Dr. Callas said. “Most voters see a physician of some sort, and our message is only as strong as [how much] we can get it out to everyone. We’ve got to get our message out and make it be like free-flowing water.
Like his TMA president predecessors, Dr. Callas has traveled extensively through the state to meet with county medical societies, medical school deans, and member physicians – in addition to running a practice and serving on the Jefferson County Medical Society’s Board of Censors.
In just his first six months as president, he attended close to 120 in-person and online meetings on behalf of the association, with county medical societies, specialty societies, and medical schools amassing nearly half of those. He also took numerous Zoom calls, meetings with reporters, and discussions with TMA staff members, whom he’s found to be “welcoming with open arms; they really care about their job and their positions.”
His travel has included, to give a sense of his extensive itinerary: traveling to El Paso – about as far as you can travel in Texas from his Beaumont home – to meet with a legislator; trekking to Odessa to learn more about Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s medical program there; and flying to Corpus Christi even while on vacation to meet with the Nueces County Medical Society.
And in January, he made a point to get to Amarillo and McAllen, traversing the state’s north-south axis and making sure that physicians in all corners of the state were heard.
Lenore DePagter, DO, who joined him in TMA’s inaugural Leadership College, has found him to be especially attuned to the needs of physicians throughout all of Texas.
“He’s been a big advocate of ours, a big voice for the small counties and suburban counties that are not major metro areas,” the McAllen internist said. “He really advocates for those physicians ... working in areas that have unique geography and unique challenges, not just in medicine, but economically. That’s been great to see – a person from a community like Beaumont is now president of TMA and represents the entire state.”
A self-described “relationship guy,” Dr. Callas said, “There’s one gift that I have that a lot of presidents have not had, and it’s my relationships. … I have contacts with the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, all these senators on both sides of the aisle.”
Setting TMA up for success at the Capitol this year was his primary focus, he says, and some of that work started when two state senators attended his inauguration as TMA president. A personalized video from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) congratulating him was played for attendees. Believing in the power of the handwritten note, he sent out thank you cards to each of them, mindful of how a simple, personal, and old-school touch can make an impact.
“I’ve been thinking about [the 2025 session] since I got elected,” the Beaumont anesthesiologist said, emphasizing the need to place TMA’s priorities in front of legislators well before the session’s Jan. 14 opening.
“We’ve had meetings with legislators. We’ve had meetings with health plans. We’ve had meetings with nurses related to scope of practice. I’ve had the governor and Senator Kolkhorst in my home.”
Dr. Callas also testified at numerous Texas House and Senate committee hearings both prior to and during the session. One held by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in September culminated in an intense exchange between the panel and Dr. Callas about scope of practice expansion.
He asserts that physicians who might be scared off by the adversarial energy and misleading counterarguments he faced in that hearing “don’t have time to be scared.”
“That should invigorate them to want to do it more, because those are the kind of attacks we’re getting on medicine,” Dr. Callas emphasized. “If we don’t [advocate], people are going to tell us how to practice, and that’s not what’s best for medicine. We have to be the ones telling people how to practice medicine, just like I’m doing now. We need to say how medicine should be delivered in the state so that’s what I’ve done.
Jayesh B. “Jay” Shah, MD, calls him “a true inspiration” and “a passionate leader who dedicates 100% of his heart and energy to championing the well-being of Texas patients and physicians.”
“Both his unwavering commitment to advocacy and his vision for a healthier future make him a driving force for positive change in medicine,” added Dr. Shah, who will succeed Dr. Callas as TMA’s president in May.
“Watching Dr. Callas in action, I realize the immense shoes I have to fill,” the San Antonio internist and wound care specialist said. “His unparalleled legislative connections and the relationships he has cultivated will undoubtedly continue to be an invaluable asset as I take over as TMA president. His legacy of dedication and leadership will inspire me every step of the way.”
That impulse to seek common ground comes from Dr. Callas’ time serving in the Navy; he recalls basic training as a foundational few weeks that shaped his worldview.
“When they bring you to boot camp, they shave your head, they put you in all the same clothes,” he said. “By the time you’re out of boot camp, not only have you become a fighting force, but you’ve also become united, because you and your fellow recruits all look the same. No matter what race, color, creed we were, we ended up looking and dressing the same, becoming a team.”
Dr. Callas has taken a few core values from his service into his presidency, including dedication, commitment, and integrity.
“In the military, other people are counting on you to do your job, like in the Gulf War, being on submarines and doing things that I did,” he said. “I had other team members that counted on me to do my job ... so the overall team would be successful. And so that’s what I bring to medicine, the team approach.”
That military training also informed his relationship-building.
As he shared at TMA’s Business of Medicine Conference, hosted in San Antonio last October, Dr. Callas doesn’t just meet legislators – he does research on each one he’s meeting for the first time to determine what common ground they might have.
“If I’m going to learn who you are, the first thing I’m going to do is Google your name,” he shared. “That’s what I do: Google and look at every senator, every state rep, deans of medical schools, and see what’s important to them. I might find out that you’re a rancher. I might find that you have three daughters, one at [Texas] A&M, one at SMU, and one at Texas State. I might find out that you’re a deacon at your church.
“I do reconnaissance on every single person before I go and meet with them,” he added. “It makes it an easy way for us to break bread and start talking.”
From there, as longtime friend and colleague Bradford W. Holland, MD, can attest, Dr. Callas employs his charm.
“Ray has an infectious personality that is endearing, and he can have the entire room in the palm of his hand in a matter of minutes,” the Waco otolaryngologist and TMA House of Delegates speaker said. “He’s a funny guy. He speaks his mind every step of the way, but in a unique way. He leads the charge up the hill with people behind him better than almost anybody I’ve ever seen. It really is remarkable.
Advocacy in Austin and beyond
Though cognizant of and grateful for all TMA does, Dr. Callas relishes the legislative work, in part thanks to whom he gets to partner with in the effort.
He calls the TMA lobbying team “one of the most respected lobby teams in the state of Texas.” He praises their responsiveness and their willingness to give him unfiltered feedback.
In turn, other TMA physicians close to the legislative process, including current Council on Legislation (COL) chair Zeke Silva, MD, admire what Dr. Callas brings to the equation.
“Dr. Callas truly understands the nuances of the legislative process,” he noted. “That’s based on his experience as a past COL chair, but also as someone that’s been a leader in our state, forming relationships with lawmakers and showing the commitment to spend the necessary time in the Capitol to represent physicians.”
“He’s honest, he’s forthright, and when Ray has a position and it’s something in which he believes, you’re going to know it’s for all the right reasons,” the San Antonio radiologist continued.
Describing Dr. Callas’ inimitable style as “Ray being Ray,” Houston internist Gary J. Sheppard, MD, found it a privilege to watch him work to make sure legislators understand what physicians are talking about.
“He excels at being able to go out, talk to people, figure out what’s going on, and then bring his passion to it,” Dr. Sheppard said. “That’s benefiting us when it comes to this legislative session.”
Dr. Callas counts both Republicans and Democrats as friends and believes connecting with both camps is essential for preserving physician-led care in Texas.
“Everything I discuss, I believe in my heart,” he said. “If I can make something better for a patient, I’m going to do that. If I could make it better for a Texan, I’m going to do that. What I really do believe is that sometimes you’ve got to be willing to talk to both sides.”
Longtime Texas Delegation Chair to the American Medical Association David N. Henkes, MD, who stepped down in December after more than a decade in that role, described Dr. Callas as a “catalyst” who can inspire others with his presence and public speaking acumen.
“He’s really one of the people that, when he goes to the microphone, people will really listen to and respect,” the San Antonio pathologist said. “He has a lot of credibility and a lot of energy and has been a great person to have on the delegation. He’s sort of like the big cannon. You may not want to bring it out the very first thing, but when you need something that’s your powerhouse, he’s who you bring.”
Once he finishes his term as TMA president, Dr. Callas will continue to advocate for medicine for the organization as a member of the Texas Delegation to AMA and plans to use a podcast and other social media avenues to share his views.
He’s also contemplating a transition from working with legislators to becoming one himself.
Advice for future presidents
Now that he’s served as president, he has ready advice for anyone who wants to progress toward that role.
“You better be committed to medicine, because it does take a lot of time,” he said.
In a recent conversation with a high school student considering a career in anesthesiology, answering why he became TMA president, Dr. Callas said, “You don’t do it because you want to do it. You do it because you get called to do it.”
He added that when he was deciding whether to take on the responsibility, he turned to his Catholic faith and prayed to make sure it was indeed his calling.
“I hope there’s another Ray Callas out there that wants to do what I’ve done, because I’m willing to chaperone you. I’m willing to champion you,” he added. “But if you have that commitment, make sure that commitment is for you and your family that are willing to stand by your side.”
As for his immediate future come May, he said, “I want to be an ambassador that continues to be a voice for medicine. I don’t want to get in the way of the new president … but I still have fire in my belly.”
Last Updated On
February 27, 2025
Originally Published On
February 26, 2025
Phil West
Associate Editor
(512) 370-1394
phil.west[at]texmed[dot]org
Phil West is a writer and editor whose publications include the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Austin American-Statesman, and San Antonio Express-News. He earned a BA in journalism from the University of Washington and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin’s James A. Michener Center for Writers. He lives in Austin with his wife, children, and a trio of free-spirited dogs.