Health Care Career Pathways Team

My mission is to change the complexion of health care leadership. I am an internal medicine hospitalist practicing in Tacoma, and the Medical Director for Healthcare Career Pathways. I attended historically black Morehouse College, where I was inspired to become a physician-activist. I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai and Beijing and worked in public health internships. My medical training spanned the University of Michigan, Rush & Cook County Hospitals in Chicago, and Legacy Health Systems in Portland, Oregon. After residency, I joined Group Health (now Kaiser Permanente Washington) because of its unique potential to address racial/ethnic health inequities. I took a one-year educational leave to complete the Mongan/Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University, focusing on hospital community benefit policies and practices. Currently, he's building programs to support Black, Brown and Indigenous students to become health care leaders through virtual shadowing and mentorship. I’m also organizing with other Washington leaders of color to develop a BIPOC-led, convening non-profit organization called The BIPOC Health Careers Ecosystem, dedicated to developing Black, Brown and Indigenous healthcare leaders. I have two brilliant, beautiful, and bold children, Marzieh and Adib, enjoys studying Black history and practicing Chinese, and am active in my faith.

I enjoy working with students and am so privileged to be a part of their career journeys. I grew up in a family of teachers and I never stop learning new things. My professional background is in business communications and management consulting. This has allowed me to work in many different industries, from non-profit arts organizations to state government, to public relations consulting. I have been with Kaiser Permanente and the Washington Permanente Medical Group since 2010 as a communications leader, chief of staff to medical leaders, and now as a senior program manager for medical education. I earned my bachelor's degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and have completed the Kaiser Permanente Strategic Leadership Program in partnership with the Wharton School of Business. Outside of work I love to get outdoors with my husband and college-aged boys.