The People
Our program has always been regarded as a place where friendly and collegial relationships flourish between faculty and house staff.
Pediatric Residency Program Directors
The Department of Pediatrics has brought together a team of committed physicians, educators and mentors to deliver a comprehensive and innovative curriculum that will challenge residents to excel and will address multiple learning styles. This team has developed and will continue to expand the varied and rewarding clinical experiences, the innovative didactic curriculum, an inclusive system for evaluation, and opportunities to develop skills in areas of communication, child advocacy, research, and patient safety. Residents learn from a talented faculty at the bedside, in the classroom, in simulations, and in rich discussions. We are proud of the program and know it will meet the needs of any resident, whether that resident is seeking a career in primary care or looking for an academic position in the subspecialties.
Program Directors
Residency Program Director: Olamide Ajagbe, MD
Olamide Ajagbe, MD
My name is Olamide (Mide) Ajagbe, and I am the program director for the residency program. I went to medical school in Nigeria and did my pediatric residency and chief residency at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, NY. I moved to Syracuse immediately after that. I have worked here at Upstate as a pediatric hospitalist for twelve years and as an associate program director for seven years. I am passionate about improving belonging, diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical education and patient care. I co-chair the Department of Pediatrics DEI committee, care for patients, and teach our medical students, residents, and fellows how to become empathetic, culturally aware and excellent pediatricians at the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. I am excited to lead this exceptional program to continue achieving our goals of fostering our diverse residents' professional growth and lifelong learning while providing compassionate and comprehensive patient and family-centered care to our diverse community!
Associate Residency Program Director: Manika Suryadevara, MD
Dr. Suryadevara attended medical school and completed her pediatric residency, chief residency, and infectious disease fellowship here at SUNY Upstate Medical University. She has been a pediatric infectious disease attending here on faculty since 2012, spending the first few years of her career also providing care as a pediatric hospitalist. Her academic work includes the design, development, and implementation of an immunization advocacy program with a focus on improving provider vaccine confidence, communications strategies, and delivery practices, with an ultimate goal of protecting the community from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Associate Residency Program Director: Jenica O'Malley, DO
I'm Dr. Jenica O'Malley, a general pediatrician who has been working at Upstate as faculty since 2016. I started as an Associate Program Director in October 2024. I am from the Syracuse area and attended medical school at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine. After medical school I completed my pediatric residency right here at Upstate. I am a lover of all things Syracuse - the food, the people, the sights and even the weather. My academic work involves early childhood development, early relational health, building parent voice in the medical home and mitigating the effects of poverty/chronic stress. I love working with residents in our continuity clinic and am always taking on new projects in pediatrics and am excited to be part of the residency leadership team.
Assistant Residency Program Director: Holly Chebaya, MD
My name is Holly Chebaya (working on changing to my married name; formerly Stacey) and I am the newest addition to the team as the assistant program director. I went to medical school at St. George's University but was fortunate enough to study in England, Grenada, Canada and the US. I then did my pediatric residency here at Upstate and was a chief resident not too long ago! I am now a faculty member in the outpatient department here at SUNY Upstate and loving every moment of it. I am incredibly honored to serve our local pediatric population and I love the variable pathology I get to see on a regular basis. I am passionate about medical education, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, and I am very interested in simulation medicine and its role and implementation in medical education. My academic work involves medical education, simulation medicine, integrative behavioral health and novel vaccine acceptance in the community. I am very, very excited to be part of this leadership team and I look forward to all the new adventures!
Residency Program Coordinator: Aubrey Mariani, MA
Ms. Mariani is from Syracuse, New York. She graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts as a double major in Political Science and Psychology and then went on to earn a Master of Arts in Child Advocacy & Policy from Montclair State University. She spent nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector as a caseworker, behavior specialist and care manager. Along with assisting with program coordination for the Pediatric Residency Program, she is the Program Coordinator for the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program. In her spare time Aubrey enjoys travelling, being with family, hiking and activities with her pup Buddy.
Residency Program Coordinator: Patty Mondore, MA
Ms. Mondore is from Upstate, New York. She received her BA from Houghton College and her Masters from Syracuse University in Music Education. She taught music (K-12) in a public school for a few years after graduating. In her spare time she is also a prolific writer (nine published books, and a columnist for the Thousand Islands Sun newspaper), and a singer/song writer/keyboard player with several music CD's and music videos of her own inspirational songs. She also loves to explore the amazing natural beauty of CNY either by hiking with her husband or while paddling in her kayak. She has been the Pediatric Residency Administrator here at Upstate since 1990 and is the creator of Patty's Pediatric Page. Patty also uses her writing abilities to edit the Pediatric Crier, the departmental newsletter.
Inpatient Resident Assistants
In 2024 the Children's Hospital added two new Inpatient Resident Assistants, one for each inpatient team, to help the residents with various non-clinical tasks such as calling a PCP, scanning files, requesting results, and offering additional resources. Chelsie Newell is working with the Blue Team and Lillian Spencer is working with the Red Team. They have both been extremely helpful and greatly appreciated by the residents.