Diversity & Inclusion
Our Commitment
Our residency program is committed to informing, recruiting, and supporting prospective candidates who identify as underrepresented in medicine based on factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more. We are committed to creating a culture of openness, acceptance, and celebration of our collective differences and experiences.
As members of communities traditionally underrepresented in medicine, our goal is to recruit and train a diverse group of innovative leaders committed to and passionate about decreasing health disparities among children. As clinicians, researchers, advocates, and teachers, we hope to diversify the face of pediatrics. Below highlights some areas of focus:
- Recruitment:
- Attendance at minority medical association conferences (ex, SNMA, LMSA)
- Host the SCORE Program, which is a funded clerkship for UIM 4th year medical students applying into pediatrics: Learn more
- We use a holistic review of applicant files and do not have a specific board score cut-off for consideration. In addition, all Intern Selection Committee members receive training on Diversity, Inclusion and Unconscious Bias, and we use several measures to mitigate bias in our recruitment efforts including suppression of photos and structured interview questions.
- Inclusion:
- Pediatrics Diversity and GME Diversity Committee host events and programming to promote community building
- Bias-reporting mechanism
- DEI representatives on residency council
- Leadership Development & Mentorship:
- Support our pediatric resident’s participation in various UIM career development programs, such as APPD Advancing Inclusiveness in Medical Education Scholars (AIMS) Program, APA New Century Scholars Program (NCS), and AMSPDC Frontiers in Science (FIS)
- Connect with opportunities to mentor diverse pre-health and medical students in our departmental and ODME pipeline programs
- Leadership Education in Advancing Diversity (LEAD) Program: learn more
- Three LEAD groups have successfully published their workshops in MedEdPORTAL, an open-access journal of teaching and learning resources in the health professions (peer reviewed):
Increasing Health Care Workers’ Proficiency with Using Professional Medical Interpretation: Workshop
Words Matter: An Antibias Workshop for Health Care Professionals to Reduce Stigmatizing Language
- Education:
- Anti-racism curricular thread: learn more
- Health Equity:
- Office of Child Health Equity, robust education, community engagement and residency advocacy council
- Opportunities for health equity research through scholarly concentrations
SPAARC: Our department launched SPAARC (Stanford Peds: Advancing Anti-Racism Coalition) with the mission to unify faculty, staff, and learners to promote a culture of anti-racism through immediate action, development of nimble systems, and longitudinal commitment to ongoing work, engagement, and progress towards equity. The 7 action teams were led by a faculty-staff dyad with learners as consultants: recruitment & advancement, racism/HR and measurement, training, leadership representation, communication, community engagement & research, staff engagement. Click here to learn more.
Mission: Educate and empower the next generation of medical leaders to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The LEAD Program, founded in the Department of Pediatrics in 2017, is a 10-month longitudinal leadership program for residents and fellows across GME to develop leadership and scholarship skills in addressing issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), to produce leaders in academic medicine dedicated to EDI, and to improve the culture of medicine. Learn more about the LEAD Program and annual diversity and inclusion forum.
Pediatrics Diversity Committee
In alignment with the goals of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we seek to “increase the awareness of the importance of diversity; and to encourage the incorporation of the principles of cultural competence into all aspects of pediatric education, training, and practice.” This is done through various activities, including:
Goals:
- Recruitment of a diverse group of residents
- Build community through fostering inclusion and collaboration across Stanford and among the greater pediatric community
- Education, specifically around diversity and inclusion, social justice and health disparities
- Community Engagement
Resources
- URiM Funded Visiting Pediatrics Clerkship
- Department of Pediatrics: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
- GME Diversity Committee
- Stanford Medicine Abilities Coalition
- Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA)
- Diversity Center of Representation and Empowerment (D-CORE)
- Office of Diversity in Medical Education (ODME)
- Office of Faculty Development and Diversity
- Diversity at Stanford Medicine
- Stanford University Diversity Works
The +OUTlist is a resource supporting Stanford Medicine LGBTQ+ individuals in community-building, mentorship, and visibility.
Kamaal A. Jones, MD
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS
Image from UPMC
Committee Members
Support Staff
Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions or if you would like to contact members of the committee directly.
Michelle Brooks (Residency Coordinator)
E-mail: pedsres@stanfordchildrens.org
Mail: 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone (650) 497-8979
Born: San Jose, CA
Work: Stanford since 2005
Interests: Intersectionality in medicine, LGBT curriculum development
Residents
Monique De Araujo, MD, MPH
Born: São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brasil
College: UNC- Chapel Hill
Medical school: UNC-School of Medicine
Interests: Travelling, learning about different cultures, experimental cooking, trying new foods, advocacy, global health
Salma Dali, MD
Born: Sudan, Africa
College: Yale
Medical School: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
Interests: Cake decorating, running, plant propagating
Clarice Nguyen, MD
Born: Orange County, CA
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UCSF
Interests: Underrepresented in medicine, mentoring, medical education, pain and palliative care, cooking, live music
Ria Pal, MD
Born: Newark, NJ. Grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA
College: University of Rochester
Medical School: University of Rochester
Interests: Reading/writing, cooking/eating, street art from graffiti to murals, social justice
Faculty
Carrie Rassbach, MD, MA
Program Director, Pediatrics Residency Program
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Born: Walnut Creek, CA
College: UC Berkeley
Medical School: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Interests: medical education, coaching autonomy, patient-centered care
Baraka Floyd, MD, Msc
Clinical Assistant Professor, General Pediatrics, Associate Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Department of Pediatrics
Born: Indianapolis, Indiana
College: Pepperdine University
Medical School: Morehouse School of Medicine
Training: Stanford
Interest: Social determinants of health, parenting, behavior, and mental health
Carmin Powell, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Watsonville Community Hospital
Born: Monterey, CA
College: Stanford University, Biomechanical Engineering
Medical School: Ohio State University
Training: Stanford
Interests: pediatric hospitalist medicine, innovation in medical education and actively involved with leading diversity programs.
Becky Blankenburg, MD, MPH
Clinical Professor, Hospital Medicine. Associate Chair of Education, Department of Pediatrics
Born: Sacramento, CA
College: Caltech
Medical School: University of Chicago
Training: University of California, San Francisco (Residency and Chief Residency), University of California, Berkeley (MPH)
Interests: Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Innovation in Medical Education, How learners learn in the clinical environment, Communication with patients and families
Lahia Yemane, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, General Pediatrics, Associate Program Director, Advising and DEI, Assistant Dean, Diversity in GME (Office of Diversity in Medical Education)
Born: Dallas, TX
College: University of Texas at Austin
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Training: Stanford
Interests: medical education, JEDI, primary care for underserved
Fernando Mendoza, MD/MPH
Professor Emeritus, General Pediatrics and Associate Dean of Minority Advising and Programs at Stanford Medical School
Born: San Jose, California
College: San Jose State University
Medical School: Stanford School of Medicine
Training: Stanford (Residency), Robert Wood Johnson/Stanford (Fellowship), Harvard (MPH)
Interests: Research in areas of health disparities, particularly involving Hispanic and immigrant children, diversity in the pediatric workforce, increasing URM faculty in medical schools.
Laura Bachrach, MD
Professor, Pediatric Endocrinology
Born: Boston, MA
College: Harvard
Medical School: Tufts Medical School
Training: UCSF/Stanford (residency), Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto (fellowship)
Interests: Pediatric endocrinology, mentoring, resident wellness, and improving continuity of pediatric care in chronic disease. Facilitator of SCORE (URM visiting medical student program).
Recent Alumni
Bradford Nguyen, MD
Born: Sacramento, CA
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UC San Diego School of Medicine
Specialty: Hospital Medicine
Vania Joyeux Singleterry, MD
Born: San Francisco, California
College: University of San Francisco
Medical School: Meharry Medical College
Specialty: Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Kamaal Jones, MD
Born: White Plains, NY
College: Cornell University
Medical School: Loyola University Chicago
Specialty: General Pediatrics
Ashley Landsman, MD
Born: San Antonio, Texas
College: Texas A&M University
Medical School: Texas A&M University
Specialty: General pediatrics
Luisa Fernanda Valenzuela Riveros, MD
Born: Bogotá, Colombia
College: Merced College, UC Davis
Medical School: UC Davis
Speciality: Endocrinology
Hannah Valino, MD, MPH
Born: Manila, Philippines
College: UCLA
Medical School: UC Davis
Specialty: General Pediatrics
Myrna Mungal, MD
Born: Born in Bay Area, hometown Cupertino
College: Santa Clara University
Medical School: UCSF
Specialty: General pediatrics
Jayme Congdon, MD, MS
Born: Phoenix, AZ
College: Arizona State University
Medical School: UC Berkeley – UCSF Joint Medical Program
Specialty: Academic General Pediatrics
Ezinne Emeruwa, MD
Born: Riverside, CA
College: Princeton University
Medical School: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Specialty: Cardiology
Alejandro Borquez, MD
Born: Tijuana, Baja California
College: Dartmouth
Medical School: UC Davis
Specialty: Cardiology
Amanda G. Sandoval Karamian, MD
Born: South Pasadena, CA
College: Yale University
Medical School: University of Southern California
Specialty: Neurology
Alejandra Barrero-Castillero, MD, MPH
Born: Mexico City, Mexico
Medical School: Anahuac University School of Medicine, Mexico
Graduate School: Boston University, MPH in International Health and Biostatistics
Specialty: Neonatology
Alexis Toney, MD
Born: Walnut Creek, CA
College: UC San Diego
Medical School: UC San Francisco
Specialty: Hospitalist
Autumn Ivy, MD, PhD
Born: Los Angeles, CA
College: California State University, Los Angeles
Medical School: University of California, Irvine
Specialty: Neurology
Chinyelu Nwobu, MD/MPH
Born: Houston, TX
College: Florida State University
Graduate School: Tulane University School of Public Health
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Specialty: Hospitalist
Jessica Marie Valdez, MD
Born: Washington, DC
College: University of New Mexico
Medical School: University of New Mexico
Specialty: Hematology & Oncology
Deborah Holland, MD
Born: Wichita, KS
College: Notre Dame
Medical School: University of Kansas
Specialty: Hospitalist
Catharyn Turner, MD
Born: Colorado Springs, CO/ Washington D.C.
College: Bryn Mawr College
Medical School: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Specialty: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Claudia Algaze, MD
Born: Santiago, Chile. Grew up in Puerto Rico.
College: UCLA
Medical School: Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine in Puerto Rico
Specialty: Cardiology
Monica Eneriz-Wiemer, MD
Born: San Fernando Valley, Southern California
College: Stanford University
Medical School: Stanford, active member of Latino and Native American student organization
Specialty: Academic General Pediatrics
Nancy Rivera, MD, MS
Born: Modesto, CA
College: UC Davis
Medical School: UC Davis
Specialty: Hospital Medicine
Alexander Ball, MD MPH
Born: Reading, UK
College: UC Irvine
Medical School: Stanford School of Medicine
Specialty: General Pediatrics
July Lee, MD
Born: Mexicali, Baja California (Mexico)
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UCSD
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Alyssa Honda, MD
Born: Honolulu, HI
College: Santa Clara University
Medical School: University of Hawaii
Specialty: General pediatrics
Mabel Peinado Fabregat, MD
Born: Mexico City
College: Universidad Anahuac
Medical School: Universidad Anahuac
Specialty: Academic General Pediatrics
Helen Pu, MD
Born: Flushing, NY
College: Bowdoin College
Medical School: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Specialty: General Pediatrics
Antonio Jose Escobar, MD
Born: Boyle Heights, CA
College: University of Southern California
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Specialty: Cardiology
Chisom Agbim, MD
Born: Denver, CO
College: University of Denver
Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Maria Castellanos, MD
Born: Ocotal, Nicaragua
College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Medical School: Howard University
Specialty: Hematology-Oncology
Dennis Spencer, MD, PhD
Born: Baltimore, MD
College: Morehouse College
Medical School: Cornell University (MD/PhD)
Specialty: Gastroenterology
Melissa Martin, MD
Born: Los Angeles, CA
College: Stanford
Medical School: UC San Francisco
Specialty: Gastroenterology
Anjali Deshmukh, MD, JD
Born: Ann Arbor, Michigan
College: Dartmouth
Medical School: Vanderbilt
Specialty: General Pediatrics
Kaitlyn Le, MD
Born: Vietnam
College: University of Utah
Medical School: UCLA
Specialty: Hospitalist
Rachel Goldstein, MD
Born: New York, NY (grew up in Brooklyn)
College: Muhlenberg college (yay small liberal arts)
Medical School: University of California San Francisco
Specialty: Adolescent Medicine
Jenna Nolan, MD
Born: San Diego, CA
College: University of California, San Diego
Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Specialty: General Outpatient Pediatrics
Abi Pitts, MD
Born: Washington State. Raised in Los Angeles, CA
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UCSF School of Medicine
Specialty: General Outpatient Pediatrics
Marissa Aillaud, MD
Born: Mexico City, Mexico
College: San Diego State University
Medical School: Stanford University
Specialty: General Outpatient Pediatrics
Elizabeth Mannino Avila, MD
Born: San Diego, CA
College: Davidson College
Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine
Speciality: Hospitalist
Mauricio Palau, MD
Born: Palo Alto, CA
College: Duke University
Medical School: Case Western Reserve Medical School
Specialty: Neonatology
Sidharth Mahapatra, MD, PhD
Born: Bangkok, Thailand
College: Knox College
Medical School: Rosalind Franklin Univeristy - MD/PhD
Specialty: Critical Care