Donors
OB-GYN
A new endowed professorship at JABSOM’s Department of OBGYN and Women’s Health will carry forward the legacy of one of the state’s early leaders in the field, while strengthening the future of women’s health care in the state.
The professorship, established through a gift from Dr. Linda Krieger in honor of her father, Dr. John Krieger, recognizes a physician whose influence on medical education and OBGYN training in Hawaiʻi continues to be felt decades after his arrival in the islands.
Dr. Krieger moved to Hawaiʻi from the East Coast in 1963, when Linda was just eight years old. At the time, the state faced a significant shortage of OBGYNs. Despite already being several years into his medical career, Dr. Krieger returned to residency training in Hawaiʻi to meet licensing requirements.
“My father had been in practice for about six or seven years, but you couldn't get a medical license here for a year if you moved here, so he went back to being a resident,” Krieger said.
That decision ultimately shaped his lifelong commitment to medical education.
“That experience got him very interested in working on medical education, especially at the residency level,” Krieger said.
What followed was a hands-on, relationship-driven approach to training young physicians. Dr. Krieger helped build OBGYN residency education at The Queen’s Hospital and later became head of residency training when JABSOM expanded into a full four-year program.
“This was their whole life,” Linda said of her parents’ connection to Hawaiʻi. “My father really loved the multiculturalism here and the diversity of people and cultures. He felt very committed to that kind of community.”
That commitment is now being honored through the endowed professorship, which was awarded to Dr. Lynne Saito-Tom. She reflected on the responsibility that comes with carrying Dr. Krieger’s name, emphasizing the opportunity to support future physicians while advancing care for women across Hawaiʻi.
“This endowed professorship is very meaningful to me because education is a core value in my family,” Saito-Tom said. “My grandparents could not attend school beyond elementary because they needed to care for their large families and work on the plantation. However, they believed that education was the key to success, so they ensured that all of their children attended college. Growing up in Wahiawa, my parents worked hard to send my brother and me to school in town, waking up before the sun rose, driving through hours of traffic, and getting home late. Thanks to their sacrifices, I was able to pursue my educational goals of becoming a physician, the first in my family.”
The decision to establish the professorship was deeply personal for Linda, who built a distinguished career as one of the nation’s most respected law scholars and advocates in civil rights and employment law. Linda said she began thinking about legacy and preservation as she reflected on her parents’ lives.
“I wanted the memory of what my father set up here to be preserved,” she said. “Of all the things I thought about making an endowment for, this really was the place that spoke to me.”
“What makes Linda’s philanthropy especially meaningful is how seamlessly it reflects her life’s work,” said Dr. Ivica Zalud, MD, Chair of JABSOM’s Dept. of OBGYN and Women’s Health. “By creating the John A. Krieger Endowed Professorship, she honors her father’s legacy as a builder of medical education while advancing her own lifelong commitment to mentorship, excellence, and opportunity. Through this gift, Linda ensures that future generations of physicians will be supported, inspired, and guided—just as she has done throughout her career.”
For Linda, the gift is both a tribute and an investment that ensures Dr. Krieger’s belief in mentorship, education, and service to Hawaiʻi will continue to shape generations of physicians to come.
As its first recipient, Dr. Saito-Tom intends to carry on Dr. Krieger’s legacy.
“Dr. John Krieger, the first resident program director of our department, developed a strong curriculum for residency training, and I plan to utilize this endowment to advance medical education,” Saito-Tom said. “Through collaboration with other members of the department, I hope to create an innovative curriculum for learners, support trainees in their pursuit of medical education endeavors, increase research in medical education and enhance faculty development in education and assessment.”