Providers
Bruce Ulrich, MD (he/him)
Dr. Bruce Ulrich was born and raised on a small family farm in southern Illinois. He graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Physiology and went on to University of Illinois Chicago for medical school with an emphasis in rural medicine. He came to Asheville for residency at MAHEC Family Health Center and fell in love with the beauty of the people and the landscape of WNC. He is currently practicing all aspects of family medicine.
He and his wife, Irene, have a daughter born in 2020 and live in Weaverville. He enjoys a variety of hobbies outside of medicine including travel, playing music, cycling, hiking, gardening, baseball, ice cream making, and cooking.
Lauren Livingston, MD (she/her)
Dr. Lauren Livingston grew up in Lexington, NC. She graduated from Davidson College and attended medical school at Duke University. She completed residency in Family Medicine at MAHEC, and is board certified in Family Medicine. She has special interests in pediatrics and obstetrics, but enjoys the full scope of family medicine.
She lives in Asheville with her wife and two sons. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, learning bluegrass banjo, and watching her sons grow.
Rebecca Cramer, MD (she/her)
Dr. Rebecca Cramer was born and raised in Madison, WI. After finishing her undergraduate degree at Macalester College, she spent several years in Washington, DC, where she worked for an international public health organization. As part of this job she was fortunate to travel internationally, working in several Sub-Saharan African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Benin. This overseas experience inspired her to further her public health training (MPH, Emory University) and ultimately to pursue medicine as a career. She completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health prior to doing her residency here in Asheville, NC at MAHEC. After completing her residency she was delighted to join Community Family Practice and is now proud to call Asheville home.
Outside of medicine Rebecca enjoys taking advantage of all Asheville has to offer. She loves whitewater kayaking and regularly paddles many of the area rivers including the French Broad and Green. An avid trail runner, she has competed in several area events including the classic Shut In trail run. She also mountain and road bikes.
At Community Family Practice, Rebecca is interested in all aspects of family medicine services including pediatrics and adult care. Her active involvement in sports has given her a special interest in athletic-related injuries and treatment.
Liza Young, MD (she/her)
Dr. Mary Elizabeth (Liza) Young was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She attended Yale University and received a degree in Biology. After college, she worked at the Cleveland Clinic as a research technician prior to attending The Ohio State University for medical school. Liza completed her residency at MAHEC here in Asheville. During her training, she discovered a love of travel and working with the under-served in Peru, Tanzania, and with the Indian Health Service in Arizona. Upon completing residency, Liza moved to a small town in New Zealand to work for a year as a general practice physician.
She is very excited to return home to Asheville and join the CFP family. Liza enjoys all aspects of family medicine. Her interests include pediatrics and adult care.
Outside of work, Liza enjoys many outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, running, doing yoga, traveling, and baking.
Amber Albritton, APRN (she/her)
Amber grew up on a small family farm in Madison County, North Carolina. She graduated with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Nursing from Berea College in 2006 and was the fourth generation in her family to become a nurse. After several years working as a nurse in hospitals and in a free medical clinic, she was inspired to have a more direct role in the prevention and treatment of the illness and health problems in primary care. She went back to school and earned her Master's Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Frontier Nursing University in 2013. She practiced for a couple of years in Kentucky where she met and married her husband Ben, and then they moved to Asheville to return to her roots and family.
Amber enjoys the whole scope of family practice and is happy to see people of all ages, sexes, races, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status. While she has worked diligently to stay current on the best medicinal treatments, she also emphasizes the importance of having good lifestyle practices as the foundation of health and quality of life. She spends time with patients to educate them about diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. Amber enjoys helping parents manage the issues of raising children, and although she learned much in school about this topic, having had her own child has really supplemented all the theory with reality.
When Amber is not at work she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, playing old time folk fiddle and guitar, and exploring the outdoors.
Autumn Steen, CPP, PharmD (she/her)
Autumn is a Burnsville, NC native and loves living in beautiful Asheville with her husband ,Bart, and daughter, Eva. She received both her BA in Biology in 2009 and PharmD in 2013 from UNC Chapel Hill. She completed her PGY1 Ambulatory Care Residency program with Mission Hospital and MAHEC Family Health Center here in Asheville in 2014. Since then she worked as a Clinical Pharmacist with Mission Medication Assistance Program and then as a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner with Mission Diabetes and Weight Management Center. Autumn is passionate about helping patients from all different backgrounds and life experiences achieve their health goals, and feels honored to be included in the care team. Outside of work, Autumn also enjoys the beautiful outdoors with her family and all the amazing live music, breweries, and restaurants Asheville has to offer.
Rhett Mays, MD (he/him)
Dr. Rhett Mays grew up in a large family in the Ozarks. He received his undergraduate degree at Colorado College where he also met his wife, Stephanie. After graduation he accepted a Virology fellowship at the CDC working on vaccine development. He returned home to Arkansas for medical school, then completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Duke. The family moved to Asheville in 2010, coordinating the move with Rhett’s twin brother Rob, a local attorney, and his family so the twins could each have someone on the other side of heavy objects that needed lifting. They have since recruited multiple family members to the area in order to move yet heavier objects. Dr Mays worked at Mission Hospital until 2019 attending on the adult and pediatric wards and enjoyed teaching residents and medical students. His interest in working for a public health system led the family to relocate to Christchurch, New Zealand. On returning Dr Mays resumed inpatient practice with UNC system hospitals.
Dr Mays is thrilled to join Community Family Practice and have the opportunity to develop long-term relationships with patients and families. He maintains board certifications in Internal Medicine, General Pediatrics, and Inpatient Pediatrics. His clinical interests include pediatric infectious diseases, reducing polypharmacy, and end of life care. He advocates for safe commuting by pedestrians and cyclists, expanded access to vaccination against preventable illnesses, and creation of a public healthcare system. In his free time Rhett enjoys biking, hiking, swimming, and making his kids go with him. He also enjoys good coffee and performing any form of low skill outdoor labor.
Emily Mahowald, NP
Emily grew up in Minneapolis, MN in a small but close family. She moved to Asheville to attend Warren Wilson College. She had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic to do volunteer work organizing community health projects during college. This founded her interest in both the delivery of health care to individuals and promoting access to health care. After graduating from WWC with a degree in economics and spending time kayaking internationally, she pursued nursing, earning a BSN from Western Carolina University. She worked in the neuro and trauma ICU at Mission for several years before attending East Tennessee State University for a Masters of Science in Nursing with a focus on treatment of patients across the lifespan. Emily has worked as a family nurse practitioner in both family medicine and in urgent care. She is thrilled to join Community Family Practice and enjoys taking care of people of all ages and backgrounds. She actively promotes shared decision making and is an advocate for a national health system. Outside of work, she spends time raising her two boys, engaging in human powered adventure activities and talking with friends and family for hours... ideally doing all of those simultaneously.