Track: Adult Categorical
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Residency: UCSF (Internal Medicine)

Alec was born and raised in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. He attended college at Yale, where he studied Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and ran cross country and track. After graduating, he returned to California and attended medical school at the Keck School of Medicine of USC before completing his residency in internal medicine at UCSF.

In his free time, he is aspiring to be a better reader and musician and enjoys a leisurely run in the Presidio now and then. 

What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
I worked in this restaurant one summer in college, and one day I was shelling peas. After I finished the big tub labeled “beautiful peas,” I moved on to the even bigger tubs of “shody peas” [sic]. After three or four hours, Chef came to my station and finished the rest with me and told me you’ve gotta learn to love it all.  ​​

Track: Adult Categorical
Medical School: Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
Residency: UCSF (Emergency Medicine)

As a first-generation Filipino-American, queer woman, and a new mother, I’m dedicated to creating space and belonging for people, patients, and peers from all walks of life. I believe that a person’s well-being is directly influenced by the time spent processing our life experiences. The act of sharing and hearing people’s stories is important to making meaning and understanding our humanity and place in the world. 

I was born in San Francisco and grew up in both San Francisco and Oakland, CA. My first exposure to medicine was as my mother’s birth partner when I was 14, which inspired me to serve the women in my community as a young adult. I completed my undergraduate studies in Sociology at UC Davis before settling back in San Francisco. As a volunteer Doula and Health Educator at a women’s health clinic, I spent many years advocating for patients/clients in complex medical environments and creating safe spaces for them to be heard and healed. My journey at UCSF started as an Emergency department volunteer and shortly after as an ED patient care technician. I spent the next seven years integrating people’s stories and emotions into how I cared for them. While working in the ED and volunteering, I completed a post-baccalaureate program at San Francisco State University and took a short break from UCSF to start medical school at OHSU. After spending the last four years as a resident, I’ve watched my peers suffer and felt myself crumbling into pieces at various times throughout training. We spend endless hours working hard to provide compassionate and comprehensive care to our patients, and oftentimes, we are left with zero energy to care for ourselves, let alone each other. When we leave the hospital, we try to piece ourselves back together, but we do not always know how to do so. These tough times have cultivated my passion to develop better ways to nurture and heal myself. My own healing has improved my ability to slow down, hold space for others, and walk alongside my patients on their own healing journey.  I believe that medicine can be more human-centric, not only for our patients but especially for healthcare workers, and I want to be an agent of that change. Everyone deserves to be whole and it has become my personal mission to nourish the vitality of as many people as I can. 

When I’m not at work, I find joy in traveling and eating my way through any city I’m in, spending quality time with my family, teaching myself new things (currently, I’m learning acupuncture), reading, meditation, cooking new recipes, and all adventure.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given? We are all human. Everyone makes mistakes. We all deserve to love and be loved.

Track: Adult Categorical
Medical School: Northwestern University, The Feinberg School of Medicine
Residency: Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (Family Medicine)

Hanna was born and raised in the North Shore of Chicago, IL. She remained close to home through college, attending Northwestern University where she received a B.A. in Religion and was also part of the Honors Program in Medical Education. She moved to downtown Chicago to attend Northwestern University School of Medicine then moved to the Bay Area in 2007 to complete a Family Medicine residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center. Upon completion of residency in 2010, she moved to the western Navajo Nation in northern AZ to work at a regional tribal hospital where she has been practicing both adult hospital medicine and outpatient primary care medicine. She recently completed an acupuncture course for physicians in 2023 and has incorporated this modality into her practice. After seeing the need for improved palliative and end of life care, she hopes that fellowship training will help her bring this expertise back to the tribal communities she has served for many years. 

Outside of fellowship, you can find her trail running, baking, throwing dinner parties, and reading.

The best question I was asked when struggling to complete my recent 100 mile race was, would you rather be a quitter or a failure? Turns out I would rather fail than quit, and this thought (in addition to my amazing crew/friends) got me to the finish line!

Track: Geri-Pal
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Residency: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco (Internal Medicine)

Ryan was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He completed his undergraduate studies in neurology, physiology, and behavior at UC Davis, where he also majored in Spanish language. He attended UCSF school of medicine and also earned a master’s degree in clinical research. Following his internal medicine residency at Kaiser San Francisco, he is now pursuing a dual fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine.

Ryan is deeply interested in the care of older adults with serious illnesses, appreciating the complexity and the rewarding nature of patient interactions. He values the collaborative approach to developing care plans with patients, families, and care partners. His clinical research focuses on how providers can assist patients, families, and caregivers in navigating serious illnesses to lead fulfilling lives.

Outside of his professional commitments, Ryan can often be found at the Ferry Building farmer’s market or attending live music events at venues such as the Independent or SF Symphony.

Track: Pediatrics
Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine
Residency: Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Pediatrics)

The first time I bit into a California burrito, my purpose in life became clear: to consume as many California burritos as possible. After eating all the California burritos in San Diego, I moved to the Bay Area in hopes of finding a suitable replacement. Finding none, I moved to New York and then Boston, and spent years in search of the perfect burrito; along the way, I also obtained a master’s in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University and then a medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. My wife, tired of moving, stayed to finish her dentaI and oromaxillofacial surgery training. I ventured to Los Angeles, and while there were many amazing tacos, there were no suitable burritos. I nevertheless finished the pediatrics residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, with a specific interest in narrative medicine’s role in residency education. I am excited to continue my search for the perfect California burrito at UCSF, and more excited to serve as the pediatric palliative care fellow.  

What is the best piece of advice you've been given? “please don’t do that thing where you obsess over burritos.” 

Track: Adult Categorical
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Residency: UCSF (Internal Medicine)

Theo, in true “U Can Stay Forever” fashion, was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and has spent all of his life in the SF Bay Area.  He has cherished both the urban creativity and access to the outdoors that San Francisco provides. At UC Berkeley he studied environmental science and water resource management, but pivoted to work as a medical scribe in a community Emergency Room after graduation. The camaraderie and service of the local hospital set him on a long path in his career as a physician. He attended the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical program where he earned a Masters in Health and Medical Sciences in addition to an MD. After a nationwide search for a new educational institution, he then stayed at UCSF for residency in internal medicine in the UC primary care track- he notes that in addition to appreciating his great faculty and colleagues, it was a particularly sunny beautiful day in SF when the rank lists were due! He enjoyed his time at UCSF so much that he was fortunate enough to continue as a chief resident during the initial phases of the Covid pandemic, with a particular focus on resident well-being during a time of compounding stress. Since that time he has been working with a community organization to provide primary care to complex, primarily homebound older adults in the Bay Area and Sacramento. When not working, Theo is often dreaming up meals to cook in his housing co-op, going for runs along Ocean Beach or playing with his cutest and only nephew every chance he gets. 

What is the best piece of advice you've been given? “just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean that you should do it.”

Track: Adult Categorical
Medical School: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Residency: Oregon Health and Science University (Surgery)

Zoe is from Houston, TX. She studied Religion and Psychology at Rice University and received her MD at the University of Texas Southwestern. She worked as an editorial fellow for the AMA Journal of Ethics, focusing on the health sequelae of generational trauma, racism, and iatrogenic harm. She moved to Portland, Oregon for general surgery residency. She hopes to integrate palliative care into a career in burn surgery. Outside of fellowship, she enjoys dirtbag activities such as snowboarding, sandboarding, and hiking with Boo Radley the cattle dog mix. She also loves eating.   

In another life, I'm pretty sure I was:
The squirrel from the movie Ice Age