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I was born in Philadelphia but raised in Nashville, Tennessee
in a working class family. From my parents I learned about the importance
of service and making a contribution to one's community. Even though
no woman in my family had attended college and my father, a union
organizer, was the first man to do so, my parents supported me in
pursuing higher education. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity
to attend undergraduate school in California and have called the
Bay Area my home since.
Growing up, I dreamed of finding a career that would allow me to
spend my life learning, teaching, and helping other people, and
I am grateful that medicine is the path I chose. After getting a
liberal arts undergraduate education, I went to UCSF for medical
school and residency in Internal Medicine. Doing a chief residency
year solidified my love of teaching and the academic environment,
and I happily accepted a position on faculty at UCSF. I love my
job for many reasons, but the two biggest are the variety in what
I do and the people with whom I get to work. Formally, I am an Associate
Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, a
co-director for the Coda course (the concluding course in the UCSF
medical school curriculum), and a hospitalist in addition to my
Advisory College Mentor role. In daily life, I am a clinician, a
teacher, an administrator (a job I actually like!), and a mentor.
I get to see patients, teach students and residents, develop curricula,
and, I hope, help learners through one of the most important transitions
of our lives–becoming a physician. I am thankful every day
that I get the chance to do this work.
I am equally blessed in my personal life. My husband Bill, whom
I met when I was nineteen, teaches high school history and is my
role model for how to enjoy life in the moment. Together we have
three young children and are finding that watching them discover
the world allows us to see and appreciate it in lots of new ways.
Although of course I want my kids to pursue whatever career makes
them happiest, it is great to hear my four year old daughter say
she "wants to be a doctor like Mommy when I grow up–or
maybe I'll be a unicorn instead." I can be sure that at least
one of those options feels more real to her because of me.
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