Diversity & Inclusion
Our Commitment to Diversity
Diversity is a core value at Stanford School of Medicine. Our goal is to draw from people with a variety of backgrounds and life experiences to reach a new level of innovation in teaching, research and caring for patients. Innovative programs ensure diversity is reflected in our programs, culture and leadership.
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, abilities, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 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.
Vision: To educate and empower the next generation of medical leaders to carry forward the mission of diversity and inclusion.
The LEAD program is a voluntary, 10-month longitudinal program, for residents and fellows to provide leadership training and mentorship in creating scholarly works around diversity and inclusion topics. Founded in the Department of Pediatrics in 2017, the LEAD Program has now expanded across all Stanford School of Medicine residencies and fellowships. 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
- Center of Excellence in Diversity in Medical Education
- Diversity at Stanford Medicine
- Diversity Center of Representation and Empowerment (D-CORE)
- Employee Resource Groups
- GME Diversity Committee
- Office of Faculty Development and Diversity
- Stanford University Minority Medical Alliance (SUMMA)
- Stanford Diversity Works
- Stanford Medicine Abilities Coalition
- Stanford Pediatrics Underrepresented Minority Visiting Student Funded Clekrkship
The +OUTlist is a resource supporting Stanford Medicine LGBTQ+ individuals in community-building, mentorship, and visibility.
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
Kamaal Jones, MD
Born: White Plains, NY
College: Cornell University
Medical School: Loyola University Chicago
Interests: Health equity, hip-hop, reading, writing, gun safety, criminal justice reform, hospitalist medicine
Salma Dali, MD
Born: Sudan, Africa
College: Yale
Medical School: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
Interests: Cake decorating, running, plant propagating
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
Bradford Nguyen, MD
Born: Sacramento, CA
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UC San Diego School of Medicine
Interests: LGBTQ Health and advocacy, medical education
Vania Joyeux Singleterry, MD
Born: San Francisco, California
College: University of San Francisco
Medical School: Meharry Medical College
Interests: I am a bay area native, but Caribbean girl who loves food (cooking/restaurant hunting), movies and shows, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and a sports fanatic!
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
July Lee, MD
Born: Mexicali, Baja California (Mexico)
College: Stanford University
Medical School: UCSD
Interests: underserved medicine, general pediatrics, infants, global medicine, faith, photography, and tennis
Alexander Ball, MD MPH
Born: Reading, UK
College: UC Irvine
Medical School: Stanford School of Medicine
Interests: General pediatrics, community medicine, going to the beach and the mountains, drinking coffee, live music, travel
Nancy Rivera, MD, MS
Born: Modesto, CA
College: UC Davis
Medical School: UC Davis
Interests: Social determinants of health, global health, mentoring, cooking, and exploring the outdoors
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
Carmin Powell, MD
Clinical Instructor, 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.
Baraka Floyd, MD, Msc
Clinical Assistant Professor, General 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
Becky Blankenburg, MD, MPH
Clinical Associate 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 Assistant Professor, General Pediatrics, Associate Program Director for Advising and Career Development
Born: Dallas, TX
College: University of Texas at Austin
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Training: Stanford
Interests: primary care, medical education, working with underserved populations and advocacy
Fernando Mendoza, MD/MPH
Professor, 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
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
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