Join our Family Medicine Residency Program and Excel as a Clinical Faculty

Beth Klug, M.D.

Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Dr. Klug is the Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. She earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she also received a Master of Science in bio medical sciences. A former graduate of Riverside Family Medicine Residency, Dr. Klug worked with the RMG Hospitalists at Riverside Regional Medical Center until she returned to the program as an Associate Director. Dr. Klug serves on the board of directors for Hilton Presbyterian Preschool in Newport News where she was formerly a teacher. She has always been active in volunteer work including roles in admissions and tutoring for EVMS, pregnancy outreach ministry coordination at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and as a command ombudsman and family support group president for the U.S. Navy. Dr. Klug and her husband, Mark, have 2 sons and 2 daughters.

Joy Elliott, D.O.

Director of the Osteopathic Recognition Program

Joy Elliott, D.O. is the Director of the Osteopathic Recognition Program. Dr. Elliott received her D.O. degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, West Virginia where she also completed an OMM teaching fellowship. She completed her residency training with the Riverside Family Medicine Residency Program in 2005, where she served as Chief Resident. Prior to joining our program in 2006, Dr. Elliott spent a year in Blacksburg, VA on the faculty at VCOM. Dr. Elliott and her husband enjoy spending time with their 3 daughters.

John Brady, M.D.

Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Medical University of South Carolina in 1992 and completed his residency in Family Medicine at Greenville Hospital Systems in Greenville, SC three years later (Chief Resident, 1995). He served in the United States Air Force at Langley AFB, VA for four years and, after separating, joined a small practice in Suffolk, VA. In 2003, Dr. Brady opened an independent solo practice, The Village Doctor, where he practiced patient-centric medicine for the next 20 years. He joined our program in June 2023. Dr. Brady has been active locally and nationally as he was named the VAFP Family Physician of the Year in 2008 and served on the board of the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians (2010-2013) and the American Board of Family Physicians (2015-2022, Chair 2019-2021). He and his wife Michelle have three grown children (Cecily, Madison, and Sam) and he enjoys singing in the choir and running in the neighborhood.

Jason Frasca, D.O., FAAFP

Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Christopher Newport University with a major in biology and minors in chemistry and Spanish. He earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, completed Family Medicine Residency training at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, and is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He serves as the Scholarly Activity Champion, and is an Associate Editor with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Family Medicine journal. Dr. Frasca is married with one son and enjoys family time. He likes cooking, especially barbecuing and smoking food, and is inspired by watching the Food Network and other cooking shows. Dr. Frasca enjoys running, playing soccer, playing ultimate Frisbee, and most anything outside.

Nathaniel Irvine, MD

Dr. Irvine earned his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine and completed his residency training in Family Medicine at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, where he served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Irvine served as an active-duty naval physician where he held multiple leadership roles, including Division Officer and Undersea Medical Officer. His clinical experience spans outpatient, inpatient, and operational medicine, including work as a hospitalist in both academic and community settings. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. Dr. Irvine joined the Riverside Family Medicine Residency faculty in 2025. He has a strong interest in medical education, operational medicine, and evidence-based care. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to clinical reference texts. Outside of medicine, Dr. Irvine enjoys scuba diving and spending time with his family.

Jacob E. Jones, M.D.

Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Dr. Jones is an Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Jones received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Maryland and completed his Family Medicine training at York Hospital in York, Pa. He worked as a medical epidemiologist with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC, then served at the state and local level and as a rural primary care provider with the Public Health Service prior to joining us. He and his wife Barbara have 3 daughters.

Jon J. Kaminer, M.D.

Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Dr. Kaminer is an Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Kaminer received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Virginia and completed his residency training in the Riverside Family Medicine Residency Program in 1999. Dr. Kaminer worked at the Riverside Express Care prior to joining the program in July 2000. Dr. Kaminer's wife Kim, is a local Emergency Room physician. They have two sons, Jacob and Brandon, and one daughter Taylor.

Michelle R. Jowdy, DO

Michelle R. Jowdy, DO is a board-certified pediatrician who has practiced for more than 12 years. She earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, after completing undergraduate school at the University of Cincinnati. She trained as a resident at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, where she was appointed chief of pediatric residents. She practiced for 8 more years in the Navy and was faculty at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland before moving on to private practice for 7 years in Dallas, Texas. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Jowdy is happily married to her husband James and has three children (Max, Bella, Samuel) and a "spunky" pup named Toby. She enjoys mountain biking with her family, hiking, running and yoga.

Jeffrey A. Kaye, LCSW, LSATP

Mr. Kaye is our is our Behavioral Science faculty member. Mr. Kaye received his Master of Social Work degree from Norfolk State University in 1984 and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Christopher Newport University in 1979. Mr. Kaye has over 40 years of professional experience providing psychotherapy and substance abuse services as well as consultation and training services in the healthcare and business environment. Mr. Kaye is married to Joy Cipriano, Director of Property and Resource Development for the local Community Services Board. They have two sons, Aaron and Joshua.

Bradley Touchet, M.D.

Dr. Touchet joined the residency program as an associate director in April 2011. He is originally from Louisiana and came to Riverside from LSU Family Medicine Residency in Alexandria, Louisiana where he was on the faculty for 8 years. He graduated in 1994 from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine with his medical degree and then attended In His Image Family Medicine Residency Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma until 1997. He spent four years in the US Air Force after residency training. He is married to Sarah Munday Touchet and is blessed with four children.

Patricia Geyer Wessler, M.D.

Patricia Geyer Wessler, M.D. is a graduate of the Riverside Family Medicine Residency. She is an alumnus of The College of William and Mary and earned her Medical Doctor degree in 2004 from VCU/MCV in Richmond, VA. She began her family medicine training at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL but was relocated after Hurricane Katrina to the Newport News area where she completed her residency with Riverside in 2007. After residency, she moved with her family to the Washington DC area where she worked part-time in private practice and volunteered in an indigent clinic in Montgomery County, MD. Dr. Wessler has returned to the program as an Associate Director since April 2011. She is married to Jacob, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist with the Air Force at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, and they have two beautiful daughters, Abigail and Elizabeth.

Verneeta Williams, M.D.

Dr. Williams s an Associate Director of the residency program. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Virginia, completed her Family Medicine training at the Lancaster General Hospital Residency Program in Lancaster Pennsylvania, and completed a two-year fellowship in Obstetrics at the University of Tennessee - Memphis. Dr. Williams joined our residency program in August 1999. While she is an absolute OB machine, she is also a musician playing the keyboard and organ, and plays the harp at weddings, church functions, and special events. She is the Minister of Music at her church and has even played the drums and bongos! She has been blessed with two adventurous sons, Noah and Daniel!

G. Stanley Mitchell, Jr., M.D.

G. Stanley ("Stan") Mitchell, Jr. M.D. was the Founding Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Mitchell received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1954. He was Board Certified in Family Medicine as a charter member and charter fellow of the American Board of Family Practice. He combined his love of Family Medicine and his love of teaching as Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program from its inception in 1971 until January 1991, when he became Director of Geriatrics for the Residency Program. Dr. Mitchell retired January 1995. Each year since 1978 graduating residents have selected a member of their class to receive the G.S. Mitchell Jr. Spirit of Family Medicine Award, considered the highest honor that the program bestows.

Family Medicine Residency Program - Clinical Faculty