Food Security

Dr. Hessel has been a pediatrician at Marin Community Clinics for the past 13 years. Although she finds direct patient care rewarding, she understands the importance of addressing the larger issues that impact a patient's health. In her current role as lead pediatrician, Dr. Hessel collaborates with different local organizations to strengthen the safety net in Marin County which, despite its overall affluence, has many working-poor residents and one of the greatest disparities in life expectancy nationally. Dr.

Dr. Johnson has lived most of her life in the northeast San Fernando Valley. After receiving her medical degree from UCLA, she did residency at Children's Hospital in Oakland, where she learned about the importance of addressing health beyond treating the acute illness. Determined to return home and give back to her community, Dr. Johnson became a pediatrician at Northeast Valley Health Corporation, the same FQHC that she visited for immunizations as a child. From 2001-2005 she was an asthma champion, collaborating with the health department to improve asthma care for pediatric patients.

Dr. Daniel grew up in rural Riverside County, where access to healthcare facilities can be challenging. Having experienced this challenge herself, she made it a professional goal to work with communities to improve their access to healthcare and to provide dental treatment to vulnerable populations while emphasizing preventative education. Dr. Daniel currently works for LA County, where she provides emergency dental care at MidValley Comprehensive Health Center, a safety net clinic serving residents of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. Most of Dr.

Dr. Castillo grew up in the Lincoln Heights and La Puente neighborhoods of Los Angeles and is Mexican-American. She did her pediatric residency training at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), where she continues to work as a clinician and academic researcher. Utilizing diverse methods (including interdisciplinary, group and individual appointments), Dr. Castillo sees patients in three different obesity prevention programs at CHLA.

Dr. Zweifler is a family physician with more than 30 years of experience in medical leadership and education, as well as clinical practice caring for rural and underserved populations. He is currently Regional Medical Director for Adventist Health Plan for Kings County.

Dr. Stafford has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Southern California, and obtained her medical degree from the University of Minnesota in 1999. She did her general surgery internship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, where she was on trauma call during the events of 9/11. Dr. Stafford is in the process of earning a Master’s in Public Administration from USC. She wants to focus her medical career on public policy because policies have the potential to save lives en masse. As a primary care and addiction medicine physician, Dr.

Dr. Ayala grew up in Texas. He majored in Biochemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio, then received his medical degree through New York Medical College’s Fifth Pathway program and the University of Montemorelos in Montemorelos, Mexico. After medical school, he moved to Fresno to join the UCSF-Fresno Family and Community Medicine Residency program, where he was Chief Resident.  Dr. Ayala is a family physician in Hanford and in Selma (Fresno County), a farming community where most residents are on Medi-Cal and there is a major shortage of doctors.