Community Medicine Fellowship Program

Carla Cortez, DO
Family Medicine, Fontana

Medical School: A.T. Still University – School of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency Training: White Memorial
About Me: Carla Cortez is a first generation, Filipino-American, originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. While studying physiology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (Go Rebs!), she worked a variety of jobs which helped her kindle her excitement for community outreach. In college, she helped start a tutoring/mentoring program between inner city elementary and middle school students with current college students and frequently volunteered through different food banks around her city and the local county ED. In medical school, she had the opportunity to do rotations through various FQHCs in Washington DC, where she was able to work with homeless populations, patients in jail, newly emigrated persons, and others from different socioeconomic backgrounds. She also had the unique opportunity to lobby on Capitol Hill to advocate for FQHCs and meet with the then head of the HHS, which was a great experience. She enjoyed getting to know her patients on a real level and was excited to take bigger steps for health care advocacy as a future physician. She eventually moved back to the warmth of the west coast to complete her family medicine residency at a busy community hospital in Los Angeles, where she learned to be particularly resourceful at navigating systems to benefit patient needs. She continues to be passionate about working with underserved populations and improving health equity for patients on both small and large scales. Through this fellowship, she hopes to become a better advocate for her new community in Inland Empire and better address healthcare disparities. She also hopes to grow in her role as a teacher and physician, and mentor medical trainees along the way. Outside of medicine, Carla enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, trying out new restaurants/coffee shops, traveling, and is excited to get back into running post-residency :-)

Ishanee Dighe, DO
Pediatrics, Orange County

Medical School: Western University COMP
Residency Training: Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles
About Me: Ishanee was born in Pune, India and immigrated to Southern California at the age of nine. She proceeded to get her degree in Biology from UCLA and went on to study medicine at Western University of Health Sciences, in Pomona, CA. She then joined Kaiser Permanente for her pediatric residency. Throughout her career, she has developed a passion for working with under-resourced communities, whether that was on a global scale in a remote village in India or working in various free clinics in Southern California. In addition, while in medical school she became interested public policy. During her fellowship, Ishanee hopes to find ways to incorporate healthcare policy and health equity, while also growing as a pediatrician. In her free time, she loves to take care of her houseplants, travel, spend time with her family and friends and watch K-Dramas.

Grace Kim, MD
Pediatrics, Los Angeles

Medical School: UCLA PRIME | David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Residency Training: UCLA
About Me: Grace grew up in Kent, WA and graduated from the University of Washington (go Huskies!). Her approach to medicine and commitment to marginalized communities were forged through her transformational experiences teaching science in Los Angeles public schools, analyzing education policy, running people operations as the first non-engineer for a tech startup, and volunteering as an HIV test counselor before beginning medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine through the UCLA-PRIME program. During medical school, she helped cofound UndocuMed Students and Allies, which established The Dream Scholarship and helped pass SB-1139 prohibiting the use of immigration status in California medical school admissions. Her Master's in Public Policy capstone project at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs focused on policy strategies to mitigate Medi-Cal disenrollment as a "chilling effect" of the public charge rule. During residency at UCLA, she helped develop and teach a multi-day medical student curriculum on immigrant health, was active in the Pediatric Resident Advocacy Council, and was a founding leader of UACT, a GME-wide, resident-led, faculty supported hub for resident advocacy. She is passionate about teaching and learning from medical trainees about structural determinants of health, immigration advocacy, and systems-oriented solutions to complex trauma. In her free time, Grace loves rock climbing, traveling, trying new foods, musical theatre, and the New York Times crossword puzzle.

Krista Ring, MD
Family Medicine, Los Angeles

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California
Residency Training: Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles
About Me: Krista was born and raised in Sacramento, California among a large, diverse family. She attended Stanford University where she studied Human Biology with a self-designed concentration in the Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health. After spending a year as a lab manager at Stanford studying the effects of stress on the immune system, she attended Keck School of Medicine at USC for medical school and completed the Longitudinal Clinical Community Medicine experience. Since deciding to become a doctor, her goal has alway been to provide evidence-based and socially conscious care to underserved communities. From teaching a summer public health curriculum to high school students, mentoring students from underrepresented groups interested in medicine, and organizing health promotion didactics to a community of ex-gang members at Homeboy industry, education has been a central theme of her community interests and pursuits. Outside of medicine, Krista enjoys cooking, home improvement projects, attending music festivals, and hiking with her dog (and the occasional foster dog as well).

Caroline Shang, MD
Family Medicine, San Diego

Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Residency Training: Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles
About Me: Caroline was born in Boston shortly after her parents immigrated from rural China, and grew up on the East Coast. After studying Biomedical Engineering in college in New York City, she moved across the country to Los Angeles to teach high school Biology and Physics in an inner-city school. During her time here, she witnessed the impact of social determinants of health and the opportunity for change through connection with others. In medical school, she volunteered in Northern India in rural clinics and schools, providing for those who did not have consistent access to care. Lastly, in residency, she had the opportunity to take care of an incredibly diverse patient population and explore her interest in women's health. Caroline is honored to continue her journey as a community medicine fellow where she can provide care in low-resource settings and advocate on behalf of her patients on a day to day and policy-wide level. Outside of work, she enjoys being outside (hiking, biking, tennis), cooking, and going to happy hours with good company.

Erica Wolfish, MD
Family Medicine, Woodland Hills

Medical School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Residency Training: Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills
About Me: Erica was born in Woodland Hills, California and raised in the San Fernando Valley. As an undergraduate at Northwestern University, she majored in Biological Sciences and Psychology. She then attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and instantly gravitated toward the field of family medicine. She became passionate about addressing social determinants of health, and studied patterns of tobacco use among young adults in East Cleveland. One of her most meaningful experiences in medical school was a year of dedicated research on maternal-child health. She helped implement a parenting group for at-risk mothers and their young children, and saw firsthand how improving maternal mental health can optimize health outcomes for the whole family. While Erica developed a great fondness for the Midwest, she was thrilled to come back to Southern California for her family medicine residency training at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills. Through this fellowship, Erica hopes to partner with the communities she serves to advocate for their unique health needs. When not working, Erica loves being with family and friends, spending time outdoors, going to trivia nights, and playing jazz/funk piano.