Residency: Thomas Jefferson University

MD: University of Connecticut School of Medicine
BA: Boston University

Hometown: Simsbury, CT

I found out I would be moving to Los Angeles after my partner matched here for his own residency. I knew nothing about the city, and had barely been to the West Coast — getting him settled into his apartment was my first trip to the city. When I started looking for my own position post-residency, searching “environmental public health” and “family medicine” across an entirely new geographic landscape, Harbor-UCLA came up immediately and often. I met the residents and faculty at the AAFP conference in Kansas City, and knew immediately — from how they spoke about their patients, their love of the program, and their commitment to pursuing health justice in all its forms — that I would feel just as at home here as I had in my own residency. During my fellowship year, I hope to work alongside communities to fight for environmental justice as a form of public health, with a focus on oil refining and extraction, lead exposure through outdated infrastructure, and disproportionate exposure to poor urban air and water quality in Los Angeles. I feel so blessed to have found my true perfect match in a fellowship with a similar holistic view of medicine and prioritization of health equity.

Professional Interests: full-spectrum primary care, environmental public health, health policy

Languages: English, conversational Spanish (we’re a bit rusty)

Who/What inspires me: In what seemed like a cosmic fluke, I managed to match with some of the most inspiring co-residents while at Jeff, each with their own pursuits aimed at acknowledging and improving the situations of their patients. I am always in awe of physicians stepping outside their comfort zones to speak out on issues so critical to patient health, but rarely taught in medical school. I aspire to use my voice as an advocate in all spaces, as they do.

Favorite places in LA: Elysian Park (my second home already!), Hollywood Reservoir