What brought you to healthcare? Can you tell us about your professional journey? I took pre-med courses in high school and college, but preferred a more direct medical training pathway (with less student debt!). I discovered the PA (physician assistant) profession and found the flexibility, medical training, and satisfying career that I’d hoped for. --My clinical practice as a PA has been in 3 different specialties over the past 19 years – orthopedic surgery, interventional radiology, and otolaryngology (ENT). In the past 5 years I have also become increasingly involved in Advance Practice leadership in my department and for UCSF Health.

What’s your role at UCSF? What is your favorite part about it? I am a Senior PA Supervisor, which means that I supervise fellow PAs and NPs (nurse practitioners) and also have a clinical practice with my own patients. I work in the Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) department. I also facilitate courses on relationship-centered communication for UCSF healthcare providers. My favorite 2 parts of this job are: partnering with my patients in their healthcare decision-making, as well as mentoring my team-members in achieving their professional and clinical goals.

Why did you decide to join Women of UCSF’s team of volunteers? One of my deepest passions is advocacy:  amplifying the voice of others. As a petite woman and physician assistant (PA), I sometimes wonder whether dismissal of my ideas (only to have the same idea accepted once it is brought forward by a male colleague, especially a physician) is a manifestation of “speaking while female” or “speaking as a PA.” I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of bringing the needs and voices of women to the forefront at UCSF Health!

What do you like to do outside of work? I love to cook, bake, and host dinner parties. Biking as my commute to/from work is another activity that I enjoy and the primary way I stay healthy.

What’s on your reading list? The books currently on my bedside table include: Playful Mindfulness by Ted DesMaisons, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence by Derald Wing Sue, and several books of poetry by Padraig O’Tuama.

Get to know the rest of our Women of UCSF Health team here.