James H. Herndon, MD, MBA, is the William H. & Johanna A. Harris Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital; and chairman emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in Partners Healthcare System (Mass General Brigham), Boston. He has long been a leader in orthopaedics, chairing departments of orthopaedic surgery at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and Medical Center (UPMC). He also served as vice president of medical services at UPMC and as associate senior vice chancellor for the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He has influenced the direction of orthopaedics through leadership positions with national organizations such as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the American Orthopaedic Association, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and the Academic Orthopaedic Society. As residency program director of three well-respected orthopaedic residency programs, Dr. Herndon has trained hundreds of students and residents. As president of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and chairman of the Orthopaedic Residency Review Committee, he has helped residency programs across the country develop effective teaching programs. He greatly values his role as an educator, and he hopes that Birth of a Specialty continues the legacy he has established through his years of teaching and his myriad presentations, publications, and studies.