Current Residents

Romina Almada Gossweiler (she/hers)
Hometown: Fort Myers, Fl
Undergrad: New York University
Medical School: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Languages: Spanish

Romina was born in Asuncion, Paraguay and is half Paraguayan/half Uruguayan. After moving to the US at the age of nine, Romina grew up primarily in Florida but has lived in many states prior to Massachusetts. She studied neuroscience in New York City and physiology in Chicago before moving to New Hampshire for medical school. 

She has always been very interested in behavior and working with immigrant populations. Her interest in medicine stems from her mom, who trained as a pediatrician and cared deeply about social medicine. While at NYU, Romina interned at the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There, she worked on adapting a meaning-centered psychotherapy program for Spanish-speaking patients with terminal cancer. Romina loved this research as it incorporated many of her interests – mental health disparities, immigrant communities, and language. 

During medical school, Romina continued to pursue her interests as an Urban Health Scholar and taught the Medical Spanish elective for two years.

For fun, Romina likes to binge watch TV shows. She also enjoys listening to a wide variety of podcasts ranging from the Curbsiders to Crime Junkie. As a developing New Englander, she enjoys when winter becomes spring and birds begin to chirp again.

Lawrence is a very special place in terms of its rich immigrant history and critical role in the U.S. labor movement. Romina feels very lucky to be able to train as a physician in this city.

Christian Castilla, MD (he/him/his)
Hometown: Coconut Creek, FL
Undergraduate: Florida Atlantic University
Medical School: San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish

Christian was born in Lima, Peru and moved to the United States at the age of seven. He was raised in South Florida where he spent the majority of his life. He finally left Florida when he moved to Puerto Rico for medical school. He is the first person in his family to attend college and medical school in the United States. Throughout college and medical school, Christian devoted his time to giving back to the community that raised him. He has been involved in multiple volunteer opportunities including a mission trip during medical school to provide clinical aid in underserved areas in Guatemala. His interest in family medicine began when he witnessed the shortage of providers in his home country and his hometown. This gave him the drive to treat the underserved population in the future and serve the Spanish-speaking population.

Christian was drawn to Greater Lawrence Family Medicine because of their exemplary curriculum and their goal for serving the underserved Spanish-speaking population. He was also interested in their broad spectrum of family medicine emphasis. Moreover, the supporting staff and residents are what was appealing to him and he feels fortunate to be in such a welcoming environment. Christian spends his free time playing soccer and pickleball. He is looking forward to the four seasons of New England as well as the countless hiking opportunities and skiing for the first time. His favorite bird is the humming bird because of their ambition and perseverance.

Andrés Cuartas-Olarte, MD (he/him/his)
Hometown: The Colony, TX
Undergrad: St. Edward’s University
Med School: The University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine
Languages: Native Spanish

Andrés was born in North Bergen, NJ and raised in The Colony, TX (a small suburb of north Dallas). Both of his parents are immigrants from Colombia and came to the United States in search of a brighter future, where he and his older brother were born. Andrés is the first in his family to attend and graduate from college, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. Before medical school, Andrés worked as a full-time volunteer at a community hospital in Richmond, VA before returning to Texas a year later to attend medical school in Galveston, TX. During medical school, Andrés helped co-found the First in the Family student organization on campus aimed to support first generation students through the journey of higher education, student-faculty mentoring, and advocacy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He also continued his passion for soccer and community building by regularly coordinating pick-up games and organizing teams in local leagues. Andrés was drawn to GLFHC to attain full-spectrum family medicine training and explore his interests in community medicine, sports medicine, and integrative medicine at an FQHC. Outside of medicine, Andrés loves going on outdoor walks to listen to the symphony of chirping birds, playing team sports (especially fútbol), and trying out new hobbies. His favorite condiment is barbeque sauce, hands down! His favorite bird is the golden-cheeked warbler (the only bird endemic to Texas, yeehaw!).

Catherine Henckel, MD (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Sussex, NJ
Undergrad: Boston College – Biochemistry BS
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark NJ
Languages: Advanced Italian, Intermediate Spanish

Cat grew up in Sussex, tucked away in the rural northwest corner of New Jersey among the trees, small farms, and rolling hills. She attended Boston College for her undergraduate education, where the major themes in her life included studying for her science classes, having a blast in classes for her Italian minor, spending quality time with microbes in the Momeni Lab, and having some of the best and most bizarre experiences of her life playing trombone in the marching band. Cat’s passion for medicine began when volunteering at a free clinic back home in New Jersey during academic breaks in college. Cat and her family were also uninsured at this time, which made this experience particularly formative for her. Seeing and living disparities in healthcare access mobilized her passion for ameliorating disparities of all types, both in her professional life and personal life. This experience also planted the seed that comprehensive, accessible primary care, particularly in underserved communities, can make a huge impact. After undergrad, Cat worked in hospice research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she studied the perspectives that patients and their bereaved caregivers have about hospice services. This experience was the beginning of Cat’s continued interest in the art of communication with patients on topics which are profound, challenging, or stigmatized.

At Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ, she dedicated her efforts to learning from and serving the Newark community. She was a director for free clinics that traveled to local homeless shelters, organized and taught prenatal education classes, worked with hospital chaplaincy to support actively dying patients, and received a Pozen Grant to begin her Spanish learning journey to connect with more patients in the community. She was also heavily involved in two scholarship programs, one that supported humanism in medicine (Humanism Fellow) and another for students interested in practicing primary care in underserved communities (Removing Barriers to Success Scholar). Cat is particularly proud of her work in medical education, surveying the preclinical curriculum for instances of racial bias, acting as a teaching assistant, and enacting improvements on her school’s Health Equity & Social Justice curriculum.

Cat can’t wait to practice Family Medicine to see the breadth of human experience and be at the interface of medicine and the community. She’s thrilled that Lawrence welcomed her, and she can’t wait for the robust experiences in Spanish, community medicine, addiction medicine, gender affirming care, HIV care, reproductive health, procedural training — the list could go on forever! Outside of medicine, Cat enjoys reading, crocheting, spending time with friends and family, and generally being outdoors — running, hiking, taking walks, and birding. Some of her favorite birds include hooded mergansers, tufted titmice, cedar waxwings, and belted kingfishers. She’s looking forward to finding the best birding spots in Massachusetts!

Michael Ierardi, DO (he/him/his)
Hometown: Dunstable, MA
Undergrad:  University of Massachusetts Lowell – Biology, BS
Medical School:  Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Mike grew up forty minutes west of Lawrence in a town called Dunstable Massachusetts.  His parents taught him the importance of being a well-rounded individual, playing multiple sports and musical instruments while still focusing on his academics.  He stayed close to home and commuted to the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, allowing him to help his family take care of two grandparents who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  This was certainly not a typical undergraduate experience, but he credits this time as a major determining factor that led him to be passionate about medicine and learning how to compassionately take care of others.  Also during his time at Umass Lowell, Mike worked as a personal care attendant for a high school aged student who has cerebral palsy and he still values his time and friendship to this day.  After obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Biology, Mike left the nest and attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Clearwater, Florida.  It was during his third and fourth-year rotations in medical school that he learned that Family Medicine was his true passion.  He has an affinity for building strong relationships with his patients and has a love for medicine that leaves him always eager to learn more.

Mike is proud to have been welcomed into the Lawrence community and to be back home in Massachusetts.  Growing up not too far from Lawrence helps Mike understand some of the challenges the area faces, and he is passionate about the community that Lawrence is continuing to build.  As a man of many hobbies, he is excited to be able to spend more time hiking and rock climbing in the white mountains, with his favorite hike being the Franconia Ridge Loop. His favorite type of bird is the duck because of its ability to take on adversity with grace.  As they swim, they appear calm on the surface, but they are always kicking like crazy underwater.  Additionally, Mike enjoys playing guitar, hockey, baseball, volleyball, and reading about space travel, specifically the Apollo missions.

Yulianna Jiménez, MD (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Hattiesburg, MS
Undergraduate: The University of Alabama at Birmingham – Biomedical Engineering
Medical School: The University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine
Language: Intermediate Spanish

Yulianna was born and raised in Hattiesburg, MS as the youngest of five children in a Puerto Rican household. She attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she studied biomedical engineering and was a flutist in the concert and marching bands. She was exposed to healthcare disparities when volunteering with A Promise to Help, a mobile healthcare unit that traveled to rural areas in Alabama. She also volunteered with Equal Access Birmingham, a free healthcare clinic in the city for the uninsured and underinsured run by medical students, at clinic days, mental health clinics, and outreach health fairs. These experiences laid the foundation for her interest in medicine and primary care. During medical school, she realized family medicine was the best path for her when she asked her friends if there was a magical specialty that would allow her to combine her interests in obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, dermatology, psychiatry, global health, procedures, and advocacy. Yulianna was thrilled when one friend informed her that this magical specialty existed in family medicine! Recognizing the lack of training and representation of diverse skin types in medicine, she assisted in a research project that photographed and made a digital catalog of different dermatologic conditions across all skin types. She also served as an Admission Host and Diversity Ambassador, helping recruit more brilliant and diverse minds to medicine. In her last year of medical school, Yulianna participated in her first medical mission trip to Mexico, which solidified her interest in global health. When researching family medicine programs, Yulianna found LFMR and fell in love with the full scope of training, strong mission, focus on underserved populations, and Spanish training. She did a sub-internship during her 4^th year of medical school and loved the supportive environment from residents and faculty and the patient population. She is so excited and grateful to be here for training. In her free time, Yulianna loves singing karaoke, playing the flute, building Legos, going to amusement parks, hiking (although she is terrified of ticks), photographing fungi, and cheering on the Celtics. She also enjoys being home with her cats Luna and Otto. She loves video games and has gotten her co-residents addicted to Duck Game.

Brian Leima, MD
Hometown: Pelham, NH
Undergrad: Oregon State University
Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Brian Leima was born at Lowell General Hospital and raised in Pelham, New Hampshire. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Oregon State University and his medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. Prior to his medical career, Brian served eight years in the United States Marine Corps, working with 1^st Marine Division, the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, and the Georgia Deployment Program, in global locations including Helmand Province, Afghanistan; Stuttgart, Germany; and Tbilisi, Georgia. During this time, Brian’s experience working at the Combat Support Hospital Camp Dwyer, in addition to witnessing the birth of his son, inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Following his military service, he worked at Medtronic Diabetes Research & Development as a Project Manager. When not practicing medicine, Brian can be found surfing, hunting, and biking around Lawrence in all sorts of weather. He is a father of three and makes excellent pancakes. He feels privileged to be serving the people of the Merrimack Valley.

Margaret Nakayama, DO (she/her)
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Undergrad: University of Memphis— B.S. in Chemistry
Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
Languages: Minimal Spanish

Margaret was born into a high control church community in Anaheim, CA. At age 6, her family moved to Memphis, TN to help propagate this church model. She was lucky to attend excellent public schools including the University of Memphis and was able to leave the church. During her study “abroad” experience she became involved in the local farming movement in Western Massachusetts and fell in love with small scale food production. Between and during the four farming seasons following undergrad she worked in a farm-to-fork restaurant, a pediatric clinic, a construction materials lab, and an ENT clinic. She was introduced to a sobriety community in Memphis and a queer/social justice community in Western Mass. Because of these experiences and her love for outpatient clinics, she was compelled to pursue a career in medicine and moved to Chicago for medical school. 

During medical school, she helped to launch the diversity and equity committee at CCOM specifically focusing on admissions changes and facilitating small group discussions in the lecture series “Facing Racism in Healthcare.” She actively tutored physiology and clinical reasoning for first and second year medical students.  

Her homing instinct has returned her to Massachusetts for residency! She is feeling very lucky to be in a program where she is supported to learn about health systems, learn Spanish, and focus on caring for a community. She hopes to perfect her sparrow calls and to spot some kestrels over the next four years.

Meghan Olsen MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Ipswich, MA
Undergraduate: Tufts University
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Language: Learning Spanish and Swedish

Meghan was born in Boston and raised in a nearby small town of Ipswich, Massachusetts. For her entire adult life, she worked part time at the local coffee shop as a barista, getting to know virtually the entire community and becoming a beloved coworker. Throughout her many years of education, she came back to pick up shifts and stay in touch with her hometown. Her graduation from medical school was bittersweet, with the joy of seeing her success and the sadness that Ipswich would no longer see as much of her.

Meghan went to Tufts University where she double majored in biology and community health as an undergrad and earned an MS in biomedical sciences. After graduation she worked as a medical scribe for a primary care and infectious disease practice in Peabody, MA. She discovered her passion for primary care and loved working with a team that was connected to the community. She decided to officially purse medicine and became a quadruple Jumbo by enrolling in the dual degree MD/MPH program at Tufts University School of Medicine. During her rotations in medical school she was introduced to full spectrum family medicine and hasn’t looked back! Meghan is particularly interested in maternal and child health and health care systems. She was drawn to GLFHC for the community values, Spanish program, and unparalleled training opportunities.

Outside of medicine Meghan loves combining getting outside with traveling. She has yet to fulfil her dream of seeing a puffin in the wild (she came close in both Iceland and Alaska) but hopes to soon! When at home, you can find her spending quality time with her loved ones, tending to her ever growing plant collection, listening to audiobooks, and cuddling up with her inquisitive cat Haggis.

Kevin Reiners (he/him/his)
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Undergraduate: Tulane University
Medical School: LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine – New Orleans

Kevin was born in New Orleans and was raised in South Louisiana, where his Cajun family imparted in him a strong sense of culture and community, mostly through food. After graduating from Tulane University (Roll Wave!) with a degree in Neuroscience and History, he worked as a clinical research assistant, helping physicians in multiple medical specialties to care for their patients. Excited by the variety that the field of medicine had to offer and inspired by the many doctors he worked with, he began medical school at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Acutely aware of the many unique challenges his community faced, Kevin was excited to work as a volunteer with the Student-Run Community Clinic, where he provided testing and counselling for HIV and hepatitis C in addition to health care and other vital resources for unhoused people. He also worked to address the systemic causes of his community’s health problems, partnering with the Tulane University Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic to advocate for reducing pollution and educate his neighbors on the health risks of pollution and how to get involved in reducing it. While sad to finally be flying away from his nest in New Orleans, he is overjoyed to be entering the vibrant community in Lawrence and working to its betterment while training at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. He relishes this opportunity to learn Spanish and at the same time grow into a doctor capable of providing all of his patients with the full scope of services that a family medicine physician can offer. In his free time, Kevin loves cooking (especially grilling), spending time with his cat, Frankie, as well as exploring his new environs in Massachusetts via hiking, bicycling, and –naturally– eating and drinking.

Tong Yan, MD, MPH, MS (he/him/él)
Hometown: Fountain Valley, CA
Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley – Anthropology
Graduate: Columbia University – MS Narrative Medicine, The George Washington University Milken School of Public Health – MPH
Medical School: The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Born and raised in sunny southern California, Tong attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a degree in anthropology. He earned his master’s degree at Columbia University in Narrative Medicine.

Tong spent many summers growing up attending international mission trips in remote communities of Bolivia and Mexico which sparked a desire to address the global health disparities he saw. However, through volunteering as a caseworker at a free clinic in college and work as an EMT and medical assistant in both affluent and underserved communities, Tong saw how problems of poverty and lack of access to care was not limited to the international context but also was prevalent in the United States. Experiences like this fostered within him an interest in the social determinants of health, particularly in food security, nutrition, and housing and led him to pursue an MD/MPH at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. During medical school, Tong helped spearhead the Family Lifestyle Program, an initiative in partnership with the Children’s National Hospital to connect families with community resources related to food access, nutrition education, and physical activity to support them in their efforts to address obesity. As the president of the Family Medicine Interest Group, he was committed to advocating for and promoting family medicine at GW, one of the few US medical schools without a FM department.

Tong is thrilled to train at GLFHC because of the program’s commitment to the community it serves and dedication to forming strong clinician leaders with full-spectrum training. In his spare time, Tong can be found cooking and hosting dinners as an excuse to experiment with elaborate recipes, going hard at karaoke, doodling on the piano, being a plant dad, and binge-watching reality television. When birds were not drones, Tong’s favorite avian friend was the barn owl. However, now their night surveillance capabilities are rather terrifying to him. #birdsarentreal

Alex Zapata, MD (he/him/his)
Hometown: Plano, TX
Undergrad: University of North Texas, BA in Psychology
Medical School: Texas Tech University Health Sciences School of Medicine
Languages: English, Spanish

Alex was born and raised in Plano, TX by parents who taught him the value of hard work, tenacity, and taking care of others. Love of family and community fostered as a child grew through working in family businesses, educational pursuits, and spirited volunteerism both locally and abroad. Working in health information management exposed him to healthcare and helped his mission of becoming a physician take flight. His second career teaching biomedical sciences to high school seniors served to further develop his passion for community engagement and all aspects of education. Medical school was an especially treasured time as he engaged as leader of multiple service and school organizations including the Genders & Sexualities Alliance, an addiction care & education organization, and the community’s Free Clinic. He was honored as his campus’ Outstanding Student in Family Medicine for joining medicine with humanitarianism, and brings this perspective into every patient visit. It is a dream come true for Alex to be part of the GLFHC team and to learn family medicine from this exemplar system in Lawrence. Outside healthcare he can be found exploring parks, making music, attending concerts, ducking into various types of games, and spending time with his wife and pets.

Louise Amat, MD (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Potomac, MD
Undergraduate: University of Michigan – B.S. in Biomolecular Science and Spanish
Medical School: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish, Native French

Louise was born near Lyon, France and raised in the DC area. She is the youngest of four children in a Francophone household, and takes pride in having taught her parents many of the American colloquialisms. She attended the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) where she had the opportunity to become a Spanish medical interpreter for the Student Run Free Clinic. In this role, she was exposed to healthcare disparities and developed a curiosity for language and cultural barriers to care. She also participated in global health work in rural Honduras, which sparked her interest in addressing health disparities back home. She went on to serve as an AmeriCorps member at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and spent a year working as a women’s health care coordinator. This experience was highly impactful and solidified her commitment to serve unhoused and underserved communities in her career. She returned to the Midwest to attend Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, where she enjoyed summers on the lake before hibernating in the hospital for the long winters. She sought out experiences to learn more about health disparities and became involved with Chicago Street Medicine, where she piloted outreach projects to help the unhoused obtain shelter and primary care services. Right before graduation, she had the opportunity to pursue a global health rotation in Bolivia, which furthered her Spanish language skills and understanding of rural medicine in resource-limited environments abroad. She looks forward to continuing her pursuit of global health work in residency and beyond. Louise is elated to be joining the GLFHC family. She spent a month rotating at Lawrence as a medical student and immediately felt at home with the program’s welcoming community and fierce commitment to health equity. She is looking forward to practicing full spectrum family medicine at an FQHC and is particularly excited to deliver babies and learn addiction medicine! Outside of medicine, she can be found exploring the running trails in the Boston area and escaping to the beach with her lovely co-interns. Although she is not as well versed in TV series’ as the rest of her class, her favorite fictional doctor would have to be McDreamy (obviously).

Mikayla Ambarian, MD
Hometown: Wyomissing, PA
Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh
Medical School: Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Languages: Fair Spanish

Mikayla grew up in Wyomissing, PA, a town about an hour away from Philadelphia, and loved listening to Taylor Swift (another Wyomissing native) with her three younger brothers. She moved across the state to Pittsburgh for college, where she majored in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish. Mikayla returned to eastern PA to attend medical school at Temple University, where she was exposed to how systemic inequality can affect the health of a community. From her involvement with the Thrive student-run clinic and service learning program, Mikayla developed an interest in harm reduction and caring for patients with substance use disorders. She was drawn to family medicine because of the opportunity to combine this interest with her other varied clinical interests, including hospital medicine, nutrition, group visits, POCUS, and reproductive health, while taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. As a scholar in the AAFP Foundation’s Emerging Leader Institute, Mikayla was able to explore the consequences of weight stigma in healthcare and developed a workshop to introduce weight inclusive care and anti-fat bias to medical students. Mikayla is excited to be a part of the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency and to work alongside and learn from others who are passionate about full-spectrum family medicine and advocating for the community. When she’s not in the hospital, Mikayla enjoys playing field hockey, cheering on Pitt and Philly sports teams, running with her partner Nick, listening to Noah Kahan, and reading thrillers and romance novels. Because sitcoms are the best category of TV show, Dr. Sheldon Cooper is her favorite fictional doctor.  

Edward Bickham, MD (He/Him/His)
Hometown:  Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduate: University of California Santa Barbara
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish – Advanced 

Eddie is originally from Los Angeles. As the second of five brothers, he spent childhood summers on the family dairy farm in northern Mexico and many days afterschool hanging out at skate parks and PC bangs (internet cafes) in southern California. His favorite sports are basketball, soccer, and judo. He slightly prefers dogs to cats. Eddie studied Biochemistry at University of California Santa Barbara, during which he was exposed to a career in medicine through a biomedical summer research project at Yale. After university, he spent several years as an EMT in Riverside, California where he found it especially rewarding to help people navigate our healthcare system while carefully avoiding bringing financial problems to people. Eddie received lots of support and love from his various biological and step-grandparents and so is very interested in the care of older adults. He attended Tufts University School of Medicine and grew to appreciate the different seasons available on the east coast. He plans to relearn how to snowboard if and when there is time off. His favorite doctor is Dr. Doof from “Phineas and Ferb” as he believes in second chances. Eddie excited to join the fantastic team at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center and Lawrence General Hospital working to help people be as healthy as they can.

Abigail Boeck, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Portage, WI
Undergraduate: Concordia University in Austin, Texas
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Languages: Portuguese, Learning Spanish

Abi was raised in a big extended family in rural Wisconsin, which wove the value of relationship and mutual care into the fabric of her being. She attended a small university in Austin, Texas, where she studied biology with a focus in ecology. During her time in Austin, she got her first glimpses into medicine through work in mobile health units, primary care clinics, and in-home care. After college, she worked for the US Peace Corps in Mozambique for a few years, where she collaborated with Community Health Workers and clinicians at a clinic and in health promotion in an elementary school. From there, she went back to Wisconsin for medical school, where she completed a dual degree program in medicine and public health. This allowed her time and framework to assess health in a more holistic way, in a way that centers the experience of individuals in unique situations and environments with unique goals for their health and wellbeing. Her research focus was the health implications of carceral systems, and this continues to be a focus area for her. When she found the breadth of practice and depth of relationship in Family Medicine, she knew she was home. Her approach to care centers autonomy, kindness, and mutual accountability in patient relationships, while insisting on improving the structures we all live in that impact health. Abi loves being outdoors when it’s not toooo cold. She enjoys hiking in the woods and gardening in community gardens. She also loves reading poetry and essays. Always a Robin Williams fan, her favorite fictional doctor is Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. Her happiest moments are spending slow days with family, friends, and great food.  

Daniela Castelblanco, MD (she/her/ella)
Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia
Undergraduate: University of Central Florida
Medical School: Ponce Health Sciences University
Languages: Native Spanish

Daniela was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved to Florida at the age of 6. At a young age, she witnessed situations where loved ones did not seek medical attention due to a lack of resources and language barriers. These experiences led her to strive towards addressing health disparities. While in university, she volunteered at a free community clinic that served an uninsured and underserved population, which fueled her passion to study medicine and provide care to Spanish-speaking patients in their preferred language. She is the first in her family to become a physician, thanks to the support of her parents and learning from their exemplary work ethic. Her passion for family medicine deepened throughout her medical education. She enjoyed each of her clinical rotations and the opportunity to engage with diverse patient populations. It was during her family medicine rotation that everything harmoniously coalesced. The complexity of care and the breadth of medical knowledge required in this field seamlessly align with her yearning to be a lifelong learner. Family medicine also grants her the privilege to perform procedures such as c-sections, colposcopies, skin biopsies, and more. She was drawn to the Greater Lawrence Family Medicine Residency because of its robust full-spectrum curriculum. She is grateful to be training at a residency that will prepare her to provide the best possible care to every patient, including learning surgical obstetrics and caring for critically ill hospitalized patients. Outside of work, Daniela enjoys weightlifting, hiking, and swimming. She also enjoys watching TV shows, and her favorite fictional doctor is House.

Courtney Cloud, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Olathe, KS
Undergraduate: University of Kansas
Graduate: University of Kansas SOM, MPH
Medical School: University of Kansas SOM
Languages: Beginner Spanish

Courtney grew up in Olathe, KS and attended the University of Kansas where she majored in Behavioral Neuroscience. She was always interested in becoming a doctor, but after witnessing compassionate health care by physicians in both personal and professional settings, her love for medicine was cemented. After college she worked as an AmeriCorps member at her local health department. There she saw patients face numerous barriers to care and developed a passion for public health. In medical school her love for public health continued and she returned to the health department during the pandemic to help with contact tracing. Throughout her rotations, she continued to see patients experience barriers to care that resulted in preventable conditions spiraling out of control. She decided to pursue an MPH to become more equipped to contribute to systemic change beyond the individual health level and learn how to better advocate for her patients. During this time, she had the opportunity to engage in different forms of equity work and helped form a health equity team with community members and organization leaders. She is so thankful to be part of a program that shares her same passion and values, and intentionally prioritizes advocacy, and community engagement. She is particularly excited to learn Spanish so she is able to provide better care to patients in her community. In her spare time, she enjoys playing sand volleyball, karaoke whenever she can convince friends, chilling with her dog, and spending time with friends and family. She was going to say her favorite fictional doctor was Dr. Phil, but apparently he really does have a doctorate, so her second favorite is Dr. Turk from “Scrubs.”

Savannah Creel, DO (she/her/hers)
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Undergraduate: The University of Tennessee – BS in Microbiology
Medical School: William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Languages: Basic Spanish

Savannah was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, the eldest daughter of a large Cajun family. Her community imparted a strong work ethic and dedication to service that she witnessed firsthand during Hurricane Katrina. Savannah left home for college in the mountains of Tennessee where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology and developed her passion for public health as a Peer Health Educator, working with undergraduate students on access to contraceptive care, sexual health education and interpersonal violence prevention. She also learned to drive in the snow. Savannah then went to southern California for her Master in Biotechnology where she was able to further her understanding of healthcare systems as a whole.  She completed research that connected the more esoteric aspects of biotechnology to primary care when she completed a thesis on access to cardiovascular rehabilitation resources to patients in the San Joaquin Valley of California.  Her passion for Family Medicine began before medical school, witnessing the deep need for primary care across the deep south, and the increasing specialization of medicine that often perpetuates barriers to care in healthcare systems. It was during her third and fourth-year rotations in medical school that she found the full spectrum training that Family Medicine offers, which was the perfect combination of her true passions for primary care, advocacy, and building strong relationships with her patients. Savannah is elated for the opportunity to train at GLFHC and to learn Family Medicine from clinical leaders in a program dedicated to full-spectrum training and community medicine. In her spare time, Savannah can be found exploring rail trails with her husband, toddler and golden retriever. She also enjoys cooking, true crime podcasts and long phone calls with her mom. Her favorite fictional doctor is easily Dr. Harley Quinn (although Savannah is not that bold with her clinic attire).

Xian Mao, MD, MPH (they/them/theirs/ello/elle)
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Undergraduate: Yale University
Medical School: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Languages: Mandarin (Expert), French (Beginner), Spanish (Beginner)

Born on a cold Chicago winter and raised in the mountains of Utah, Xian had spent the past 10 years on the East Coast, first in New Haven at Yale University, then two years working in Bethesda, and finally five years of medical school (plus a MPH) in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins. They are a proud first-generation Chinese American, with two generations of doctors before them. Student activism during their undergraduate years gave them a broad perspective on the intersections of health and social justice; the works of Loretta Ross and Mia Mingus have strongly influenced their thinking on the importance of racial equity, reproductive justice, and disability rights within medicine. They also volunteered with AIDS Project New Haven, developing communication skills and a phone voice that caused their landlord to hang up on them. During medical school they were introduced to harm, and that has been their guiding philosophy ever since. During their medical school they were involved in projects focused on substance use and housing instability. Xian is excited to be a part of the Greater Lawrence Health Center family and to explore the frontiers of family medicine, including substance use treatment and gender affirming care. They are excited to be surrounded by New England’s greenery once again, and identifying the local birds of the Merrimack Valley. In their rare spare time they enjoy reading and writing (primarily science fiction and fantasy), knitting, playing video games and Magic the Gathering. Their favorite fictional doctor is Dr. Jekyll (Mr. Hyde does not hold a medical degree).

Brian Nickley, MD (he/him/his)
Hometown: Abington, MA
Undergraduate: Georgetown University – B.S. Human Science
Graduate School: Tufts University School of Medicine – M.S. Biomedical Science
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School – M.D. (Global Health Track)
Languages: Intermediate Spanish

Brian Nickley grew up on the South Shore of Massachusetts in a small town called Abington. Being actively involved in his community has always been one of the most important things to him since childhood and is a through line in the story which ultimately brought him to Family Medicine in Lawrence. He found his true passion for serving others and his community in more meaningful ways during high school and college, especially while working as a lifeguard and eventual BLS/CPR/AED instructor. In this role he coordinated with the local Police/Fire/EMS to plan simulations and trainings to reinforce safety and emergency preparedness for staff of the town pool/camp. He then brought this passion for service to Washington DC during undergrad where he was active in numerous clubs and organizations focused on community engagement and health promotion. During the first two years of medical school, Brian spent much of his free time working on public health outreach initiatives, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a Primary Clinic Coordinator for a free medical clinic in Worcester which ran weekly. In addition, he worked with numerous local and state agencies to conduct COVID-19 vaccination outreach. Traveling across the Commonwealth from Springfield to Chelsea and everywhere in between, he found renewed meaning in his medical calling when working with groups that minimized barriers to access to the vaccine; participating in walking street clinics for unhoused individuals, door-to-door knocking for those with mobility or transportation barriers, clinics at local churches and barbershops, and many more pop-up vaccination efforts reinforced his desire to promote comprehensive, holistic healthcare to those most in need. He is incredibly excited to train at GLFHC because of their commitment to upholding and acting on these same ideals as a Community Health Center. His Family Medicine interests include comprehensive integrated care across inpatient/outpatient settings, sports medicine, and obstetrics/reproductive justice. He is an avid baker, loves exploring new places (as of writing is at 302 of 351 Massachusetts cities and towns visited), and prefers to spend as much time as possible outdoors, even in the dead of winter. His favorite fictional doctor is Dr. Tobias Funke from “Arrested Development.”

Cassandra Nytes, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Monona, WI
Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin – Madison
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Languages: Spanish, conversational Finnish

Cassie calls home a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, though she spent a lot of time while growing up in Helsinki, Finland, visiting her mother’s family. There, she grew to have an appreciation of universal healthcare and adequate social supports, and got more curious about cultures and languages around the world. She attended University of Wisconsin-Madison for her undergraduate studies in Biology and Spanish. After graduating, she served for a year in AmeriCorps at a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) in Aurora, Colorado and then spent three years as a community resources specialist at an FQHC in Madison, WI. Seeing the challenges her patients faced due to systemic injustice, she developed a passion for social justice, health equity, advocacy, and providing care to the underserved. At these clinics, she also saw the power of the long-standing relationships family medicine physicians had with their patients and how they had a holistic understanding of their patients. Returning to school, she attended University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health where she completed a dual MD-MPH. Throughout her medical training, she participated in the Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) program where she worked with a community-based syringe services program in Milwaukee, developing a hepatitis C testing initiative with referral to treatment. Her studies at UW taught her the importance of community and public health measures to the health of a population. With her experiences and passions, she felt that family medicine was a perfect fit for her! She is excited to be joining Lawrence Family Medicine Residency as the program’s values align with her own passions and she is excited to become a full-spectrum family physician. When she’s not at work, you can find Cassie spending time with loved ones, reading a book, watching her favorite period drama, trying new restaurants and breweries, exploring the outdoors, or traveling. If she could run around on adventures with any fictional doctor, she’d choose Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes (especially if it’s the BBC version) – what could be cooler than solving mysteries and being a physician.

Sienna Schaeffer, MD
Hometown: Grimes, IA
Undergraduate: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Medical School: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Languages: Basic Spanish

Sienna was born and raised outside of Des Moines, Iowa. She attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities for her undergraduate education, where she studied cell biology and Spanish. At UMN, her time outside of class was spent in a science communication club, at trivia nights, and eating ice cream. Her favorite class was a service-learning Spanish course at Centro Tyrone Guzman in Minneapolis, where she developed a deep appreciation for community-based health programs. She attended medical school at the University of Iowa. Her interest in community health and health equity led her to pursue an MPH and volunteer at the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic during her time there. While at UI, her passion for science communication and community medicine developed into an interest in evidence-based clinical practice, and particularly the intersection of evidence-based care, health equity, and medical education. Sienna was drawn to family medicine because of the broad scope of care, the longitudinal relationships, and the significance of primary care in community and population health. She is excited to come to Lawrence for the full-spectrum training; the opportunity to learn Spanish (for real this time); and the emphasis on innovation and community-based care. Outside of medicine, she enjoys making all types of food, but especially sweet treats and ice cream; running; hiking; and reading (especially sci fi and fantasy). Her favorite fictional doctor is Dr. Frederick Frankenstein; she likes to watch “Young Frankenstein” every Halloween.  

Sabine Shaughnessy, MD (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Brookline, MA
Undergraduate: Barnard College of Columbia University
Medical School: University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine
Languages: Intermediate Spanish

Sabine was born in Boston and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts (just a T stop away from Fenway Park!). She attended Barnard College, where she majored in anthropology and completed her thesis on reproductive health policies and practices in Cuba. Outside of the classroom, she connected Harlem Hospital patients with public benefits and community resources as a volunteer with Health Leads. Through these experiences Sabine began to recognize how societal injustice can manifest in the human body, and that her interest in medicine intersects at this critical juncture. After college, Sabine worked as a perinatal care coordinator at a federally qualified health center in the Bronx. In this role, she was trained as a Centering Pregnancy facilitator, lactation counselor, and doula. It was here that Sabine discovered the beauty of family medicine. As a medical student at the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine, her commitment to the specialty deepened, so did her understanding of how ill-equipped the healthcare system is to address the underlying problems affecting patients’ lives. This realization led her to help create a workshop-based, advocacy skill-building elective for herself and her peers, which has since been incorporated into UMass’ curriculum. Sabine is thrilled to join the GLFHC team and to continue sharpening her clinical skills and civic voice to better care for and partner with her patients to create change. Outside of medicine, Sabine enjoys testing out new recipes on friends and family, spending time in green spaces, and hunting for her next great thrift find. Her favorite doc is none other than Dr. Seuss!

Hanako Agresta, MD, MPH (she/her/ella)
Hometown: Burlington, CT
Undergraduate: University of Connecticut
Medical School: University of Connecticut
Languages: Intermediate Spanish

Hanako was raised in central Connecticut and was immersed in the medical field from a young age by her incredible parents—a family physician and a nurse midwife. She is a proud double Husky, attending the University of Connecticut for both undergraduate and medical training. She earned an undergraduate degree in Physiology and Neurobiology with a minor in Spanish and had the opportunity to work with a mobile healthcare unit providing care to agricultural workers as well as spend meaningful time volunteering at a local soup kitchen. These early experiences deepened her passion for caring for patients facing barriers to healthcare access. During medical school, she engaged in a variety of interests, serving on the student DEI committee, helping to integrate climate justice into the curriculum and campus initiatives, and teaching a peer-led course on emotional regulation and burnout. Throughout it all, she was always eager to share her enthusiasm for family medicine with anyone who would listen. One of her most cherished experiences of medical school was restarting the Migrant/Seasonal Farmworker Clinics that she was part of in college, which had shut down during COVID. Shen then had the privilege of shifting that mobile clinic model to provide weekly care for unsheltered individuals at a local warming shelter. She took a brief hiatus during medical school to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Health, focusing on the food environment as a social determinant of health. Through this, she spent a year working with BIPOC farmers in the first stages of transforming vacant lots in the city of Hartford into urban farms and completed community-based participatory research about the relationship between food insecurity persistence and psychological distress. She is absolutely thrilled to be joining the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency and looks forward to becoming a part of the community here. She chose Lawrence for their intentional engagement in the community, broad-spectrum training, strong emphasis on Spanish-language development, and the opportunity to dive deeper with their four-year program. She is committed to providing care aligned with her patients’ values and has difficulty deciding on a particular interest in family medicine  she wants to do it all. Outside of medicine, she enjoys creating pottery, embroidery, cozying up with a good book and cup of tea, game nights, rock climbing, camping, and hiking. Her goal in residency is to finish hiking all 48 of the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire! If Hanako was a color, she would be clementine orange.

Elana Cohen, MD (she/her)
Hometown: Albany, NY
Undergraduate: Cornell University – Molecular and Cell Biology (BA), Fine Arts (BFA)
Medical School: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Languages: Beginner Spanish

Elana was born near the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, where her earliest trips to the doctor involved running from roosters and milking goats outside of the local provider’s home clinic. This idyllic memory, paired with a strong desire to help others, shaped her vision of what her future might look like as a doctor. The loss of a friend at a young age transformed that vision into a personal mission to save lives, driving Elana to seek out volunteering opportunities in healthcare throughout her formative years. After graduating from Cornell University, Elana moved from Ithaca to Brooklyn to begin medical school at SUNY Downstate, drawn by the opportunity to learn from a vibrant and diverse patient population. Her clinical experiences at Downstate and work with the Brooklyn Free Clinic deepened her understanding of the structural inequities that shape access to care and highlighted the creative problem-solving often required to navigate the complex systems that patients face. Elana’s time in medical school also sparked her passion for teaching. As a part of SUNY Downstate’s Medical Educator Pathway, she developed and facilitated peer-led educational sessions on topics such as nutrition and motivational interviewing, opioid use disorder, and transgender care. Her work in medical education brought her to both the Family Medicine Education Consortium and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, where she was honored as an STFM Scholar in 2025. Elana is also a proud member of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians’ Education Commission. While at SUNY Downstate, Elana also participated in the Global Health Pathway, where she studied disease, healthcare access, and culturally-informed solutions across different international contexts. This experience culminated in a month in Quito, Ecuador, where Elana worked with physicians in public hospitals, private clinics, and rural care settings. While there, she also explored her interest in integrative medicine by shadowing shamans who partnered with physicians in indigenous clinics. Elana is thrilled to be continuing her journey at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, surrounded by mentors and peers who share her commitment to working with communities to build healthcare systems that reflect the community’s values, strengths and needs. In her free time, you can find Elana gardening, painting, hanging out with her cats or hiking with her partner, Jonathan. Given her love for outdoor activities, it’s no surprise that if Elana were a color she would be evergreen.   

Alondra DeSantiago, MD (she/her/ella)
Hometown: Walterboro, SC
Undergraduate: Clemson University
Medical School: University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Languages: Native Spanish

Alondra was born and raised in Walterboro, South Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Clemson University, where she developed a passion for women’s health. After graduating college, she worked as a nutritionist for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in Greenville, SC, guiding families toward healthier lifestyles through nutrition education. Driven by a desire to challenge herself academically and professionally before entering medical school, she completed a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences at Duke University in Durham, NC before returning to Greenville, SC to begin her medical education. In 2025, she graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, becoming the first medical doctor in her family; an achievement made possible through the strong support of her family and the sacrifices her parents made as immigrants to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico. As the youngest of four daughters, and a proud aunt to a niece and nephew, family is at the heart of everything Alondra does. She is deeply committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care, with special interests in women’s health, immigrant health, and chronic disease management, including diabetes and hypertension. Alondra chose Greater Lawrence Family Medicine Residency as her top choice because of its vibrant, bilingual community and strong commitment to caring for patients in a way that respects their cultures, values, and experiences. She feels at home in Lawrence and is excited to serve its diverse population. Outside of medicine, Alondra enjoys caring for her indoor tropical plants, finds joy in organizing her home by red to violet color order, loves gardening, biking, swimming in the ocean, and spending time with family. She dreams of one day owning a flower farm filled with sunflowers, zinnias, and dahlias, where she can create floral arrangements for special occasions. Alondra’s peer selected “personality color” is rose gold.

Ana V. Guimarães-Blandón, MD MSc
Hometown: Miami, FL
Undergraduate: Brown University
Medical School: The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University
Languages: Spanish, Conversational Portuguese, Conversational French

Ana was born and raised in Miami, Florida among a rich and vibrant immigrant community that has shaped her worldview. She saw firsthand how shared language creates a sense of belonging and understanding. She attended Brown University where she majored in Health and Human Biology as well as Francophone Studies. As an undergraduate she helped connect patients at a local clinic with resources for food, housing, and other assistance programs. For Ana, this work cemented the need to think about care beyond the clinic walls, and she went on to complete a Master of Science in Population Medicine alongside her medical degree. As a medical student Ana worked at free clinics as both a Spanish interpreter and student volunteer, taught sexual health education at a local school, and revamped the pipeline program for local high school students interested in medical fields. Ana is elated to be joining the GLFHC for her Family Medicine residency, where she can learn from full-spectrum physicians and clinical leaders as well as from the diverse population they serve.  Her interests in medicine include accessible patient health education, maternal and child health, patient-centered goals of care conversations, and palliative care. In her spare time, Ana enjoys trying out new recipes friends and family, lounging with her cat, reading in coffee shops, practicing yoga, and going for hikes when she needs to unplug. If Ana was a color she would be Robin’s Egg Blue.

Naveed Nikpour, MD, MA (he/him/his)
Hometown: Miami, FL
Undergraduate: Vassar College – B.A. in History and Biochemistry
Graduate: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University – M.A. in Bioethics, Medical Humanities, and Compassionate Care
Medical School: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Languages: Intermediate Spanish, Beginner Farsi

Naveed was born and raised in Miami, Florida to a family of Iranian immigrants. He moved to the Hudson Valley in NY to attend Vassar College, where he double majored in History and Biochemistry. After graduating from Vassar, he worked for two years in a translational research lab at Massachusetts General Hospital studying evolutionary resistance mechanisms in lung cancer. He attended medical school at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University on Long Island, NY. At Stony Brook, he also received a Master’s in Bioethics, Medical Humanities, and Compassionate Care. His research focus has been the history of medicine, previously studying the use of mass educational programs for wartime nursing in China, the development of family medicine in Cuba and its response to the Special Period, and the creation of a city-run network of health centers in the backdrop of the closure of Philadelphia General Hospital. Through his involvement with the New York State AFP, he learned how family physicians can play a significant role in caring for their patients and community, beyond the clinic, by advocating for their needs. Naveed loves family medicine for the breadth, continuity, and emphasis on community. He was especially drawn to Lawrence FMR for the full spectrum scope, integration of Spanish training, and the environment that puts the community at the forefront. His favorite parts about the city of Lawrence are the architecture, history, and food. His favorite spots in Lawrence so far are La Grekka, Pollo Tipico, and the views along the Duck Bridge. For fun, he loves hiking (favorite trails close by are Mount Moosilauke and Franconia Ridge), running, building Legos, and geography. If Naveed was a color, he would be peridot green.

Isaac Perez, MD (he/him/el)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA; Edinburg, TX
Undergraduate: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Biology
Graduate: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Health Informatics
Medical School: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Languages: Native Spanish, Learning Japanese

Isaac was born in Los Angeles, California before moving to Guadalajara, Mexico at the age of 5. Being the son of two Mexican immigrants, Isaac did not learn English until he discovered his love for reading upon moving to South Texas in the 3^rd grade. He attended the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he majored in Biology before pursuing a master’s degree in Health Informatics. During his time in the Rio Grande Valley, Isaac was part of various mariachi ensembles. While his singing resembles a loud yell, he enjoys celebrating his culture through music. After graduating from college, Isaac was called to be a high school science teacher in his community through Teach For America. He was awarded an educational grant to equip his students with portable, paper microscopes and non-fiction books to increase scientific literacy for his students. During the advent of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Isaac moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work on the Moderna Vaccine Clinical Trials. Through his work, he advocated for the recruitment of members of the Latinx community for these studies. Eventually, he returned to the Rio Grande Valley to begin his medical education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. He continued to participate in programs to advance the participation of minority groups in research through both the Robert A. Winn Clinical Investigator Pathway Program and the National Medical Fellowship’s Health Equity Leaders Program. He strives to become a trusted family medicine physician to encourage other members of his community to contribute to future research efforts, especially through public health programs focused on health literacy. Isaac was drawn to Greater Lawrence Family Medicine Residency due to their emphasis on full-spectrum training in an under-resourced community. This mission was close to him, seeing as he grew up having Medicaid, CHIP, and at times, no insurance; he hopes that his contributions can help increase healthcare access for everyone in America. Outside of medicine, Isaac is attempting to enjoy running. Despite completing a marathon and running a few half-marathons, he is still denies enjoying it. Moreover, you can find him tinkering with computers and his home server when the weather is not favorable for outdoor activities. If Isaac was a color, he would be Salsa Red, which he refuses to put on his tacos. Don’t tell his family though because they might disown him.

Diana Rodas, DO (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Weehawken, NJ; and Cali, Colombia
Undergraduate: Rutgers University-Newark
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)
Languages: Native Spanish

Diana was born in Cali, Colombia, and immigrated to the United States at the age of three with her parents and her older brother. She was raised in Weehawken, NJ, where she spent most of her life before moving to Philadelphia for medical school. Growing up, she witnessed firsthand the health disparities and language barriers her parents faced, which sparked her passion to make a change in the healthcare system. During her time at Rutgers University, Diana shadowed a gastroenterologist, where she also served as a translator. It was here that she recognized the profound impact of bilingual physicians and the need to make these options available to patients. Seeing the relief on a patient’s face when she spoke in Spanish and the immediate trust it created, fueled her dream of working in an underserved community where she could use her native language to advocate for her patients. In medical school, Diana served as a mentor for the Summer Opportunities Academy, a program designed for high school students who are underrepresented in medicine, introducing them to healthcare careers, mentorship, and college readiness. As the POFPS Diversity Chair, she co-founded and launched the Future DOcs program in Pennsylvania, which introduces high school juniors and seniors to osteopathic medicine and family medicine while learning directly from medical students about their journeys. As a first-generation student and the first physician in her family, Diana is passionate about mentorship and empowering younger generations to pursue their goals despite the challenges and barriers. She hopes to find other opportunities to continue mentoring and educating the future leaders in the community. Diana discovered her passion for family medicine in her second year of medical school through workshops and lectures hosted by the family medicine club. After attending national conferences and completing her third-year rotation, she realized that she had found her home in a specialty that aligns with her values for patient care. She is especially grateful for the month she spent at GLFHC as a medical student, where she immediately felt at home. She is thrilled to be joining a program that prioritizes advocacy, community engagement, meaningful patient relationships, full-spectrum patient care, and Spanish language proficiency. Outside of work, Diana enjoys group fitness classes including yoga, HIIT, cycling, and boot camp, reading, embroidery, puzzles, watching movies, and hiking. Fun fact: If Diana were a color, she would be the purple of Wisteria flowers in bloom.

Ella Satish, MD, MSc (she/her/hers)
Hometown: Dover, NH; Providence, RI
Undergraduate: Brown University – Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Medical School: The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Languages: Fluent Spanish, learning Portuguese

Ella grew up in southern New Hampshire and then spent almost a decade living in Rhode Island. Her paternal side of the family is from New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding parishes while her maternal side is from Central Massachusetts by way of Italy. She is a community organizer and a practitioner of Transformative Justice as well as a firm believer in prison/police abolition, and Palestinian liberation. Ella is a first-generation college student and trained as a full spectrum doula during medical school and has also worked as a certified nursing assistant and an elementary and middle school teacher. Ella went to Brown University for undergrad where she majored in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and wrote a thesis that explored the Cuban public health system as a model for improving pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity for Black people in the U.S. Prior to and during medical school, she spent time working in the COVID-19 Unit at the Rhode Island Department of Health in the beginning of the pandemic, and later in the Maternal and Child Health Unit. Ella stayed at Brown for med school where she was a member of the Primary Care/Population Medicine Program and received her Masters of Science in Population Medicine. Her areas of focus included Reproductive Justice, Trauma-Informed Care, and Medical Education. She dove deeper into community organizing as a med student and was involved in advocating for the rights of Black and brown birthing people in RI, resistance to the RI prison system and medical neglect in the prisons, as well as Palestinian liberation. Ella is super excited to be a full-spectrum family medicine doctor. She is particularly interested in obstetrical care and lactation medicine, reproductive health including gender-affirming care and abortion care, and street medicine for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Ella believes that doctors should be active members of the communities in which they live and work. She is happy to be at a program whose mission formed by and grounded in the needs of the community. Ella strives to put the health, dignity, and liberation of the people above all else. Outside of medicine, Ella is looking forward to building relationships with her new neighbors in Lawrence, getting tapped in to organizing work in the Merrimack Valley, and continuing to be connected with her comrades in Rhode Island. She loves movement in all forms but in no particular order, her favorite activities are walks outside (where she has a tendency to say hello to plants and animals along the way), playing soccer, basketball, Pilates, and especially dancing. Ella enjoys reading, baking, and cooking for others with in-season, local produce. You’ll also find her listening to music constantly. Perhaps most importantly, she absolutely loves the beach and is finally learning how to surf after many years of pining. If Ella were a color, she would be a yellow like that of the goldenrod plant.

Nola Sundquist, MD, MPhil (they/them/theirs)
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Undergraduate: Williams College
Graduate: University of Cambridge, MPhil in Epidemiology
Medical School: Harvard University
Languages: Basic Spanish

Nola grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and studied math and biology at Williams College. Following undergrad, they spent one year in England studying public health and epidemiology, where their thesis project focused on infant feeding and weight gain in the first year of life. They have lived in the greater Boston area since, first performing HIV vaccine research at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, and then attending Harvard Medical School. While in medical school, they led a student group offering support to pregnant women receiving prenatal care in the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) as well as mentoring younger students to do the same. They also worked in the student-run foot clinic at the BHCHP’s respite facility. Seeing the importance of understanding each patient in context, including within systems of injustice, these experiences led Nola to choose family medicine at GLFHC.  One of their favorite research projects in med school involved watching 700 TikToks about different forms of birth control to better understand messaging on social media (although their most recent social media post was on Facebook in 2014). They love to run and ran the Boston Marathon in 2022 and again in 2024. If Nola were a color, they would be butter yellow (after their favorite food).

Tori Valachovic, MD (she/her)
Hometown: Bridgeville, PA
Undergraduate: Allegheny College
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry
Languages: Beginner Spanish

Tori was born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, PA. She has been progressively migrating north for her educational opportunities, first completing her undergraduate education at Allegheny College where she studied biochemistry and global health studies. During this time, she was introduced to the world of medicine, caring for aging folks in her community as a residential & in-home personal care aid and health coach. She was drawn to the work of cultivating deep relationships through trust-building and helping her patients navigate barriers to care. Her studies and work experiences established the conditions for her to reflect on the inequitable landscape of health on these stolen lands and drove her to learn more about addressing these disparities as she began medical school at the University of Rochester. Given the pervasive issue of food insecurity made worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the local mutual aid network in Rochester, organizing to meet the needs of the community through grassroots efforts. Her work with the group over the past 5 years has taught her the importance of communal care and both the challenges of and hope in creating alternatives to inadequate & harmful existing systems. As a co-leader of the Rochester Human Rights Initiative (RHRI), she also organized forensic evaluations and wrote medico-legal affidavits for asylum seekers to aid them in their cases for safe residence. Her connections with the people seeking services through RHRI made personal the devastating legacies of colonialism, imperialism and US intervention abroad, deepening her conviction that as health care providers, we must work in opposition to these systems. As she progressed through her clinical training, she found resonance in the ethos of Family Medicine to care for the whole person, which included addressing the structural forces impacting their life. She was especially drawn to the Lawrence FM residency program due to its focus on equitable community care in addition to its full-spectrum primary care training. Tori is incredibly excited and humbled to partner with and be accountable to her patients and broader Lawrence community. When she’s not working, Tori is likely participating in one of her many “side quests,” as her fiancé lovingly refers to them. You can catch her social dancing on the weekends, listening to an audiobook or podcast whilst puttering around, chaotically cooking for a dinner party, rollerblading or biking about, and spending quality time with friends & family. Through consensus decision-making, her fellow co-interns have determined that the color that best embodies her essence is terracotta orange.

Rachel Weger, MD (she/her)
Hometown: Berwyn, PA
Undergraduate: American University – Neuroscience and Community-Based Research
Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Languages: Spanish

Rachel grew up in Berwyn, PA. She went to American University to study neuroscience. There, she was a Community Based Research Scholar, and she collaborated with various organizations serving low-income residents of Washington, DC. From then on, she dedicated herself to learning more about health disparities and ethical engagement with community-based organizations. After graduating, she worked at the NIH for two years, studying racial and gender disparities in pain treatment as well as mental health during the COVID pandemic. She then continued to hone her skills as a researcher and community partner as a Social Medicine Fellow in medical school, where she collaborated with community organizations on medical education projects. In medical school, she led a study interviewing people who inject drugs about their experiences with harm reduction and healthcare. Through this research, she learned the importance of meeting patients where they are, a central principle of harm reduction. Throughout her career, she has always had a particular interest in working with immigrants and refugees. She finds joy in being able to connect with patients so much more readily by speaking their native language, as well as by being a welcoming and accommodating partner in a healthcare system that overwhelms even native-born patients. She is excited to join LFMR due to its genuine commitment to serving the needs of the Lawrence community, its commitment to full-spectrum family medicine, and its enthusiasm to help her attain her goal of being a bilingual physician. Outside of medicine, Rachel enjoys watching her favorite soccer team (Hala Madrid!),trying new restaurants, listening to podcasts, and spending time with her family. If Rachel were a color, she’d be the Purple Mountains Majesty crayon.  

Ryan Weis, MD (he/him/his)
Hometown: Higganum, CT
Undergraduate: Siena College
Medical School: Albany Medical College
Languages: Basic Spanish

Ryan grew up in the small town of Higganum, Connecticut where he gained a large appreciation for trees, winding roads, and the New England seasons.  He moved from Connecticut to Albany, NY where he majored in Biology and Spanish at Siena College.  During that time, he made friends with a couple friars and learned the value of Franciscan service and advocacy.  In his first year of medical school, Ryan spent time working through AmeriCorps with a community garden in the underserved South End of Albany. It was here that he was exposed to the legacy of environmental injustice in communities across the United States and began to think about the connection between the built environment and health. He spent the rest of medical school exploring this connection and continuing to work with community organizations in the South End.  It was this interest that led him to Family Medicine, a field that he saw as taking in the entire context of a person’s life. Ryan is excited to join GLFHC because of their strong commitment to their community (and the chance to practice more Spanish!). Outside of work, Ryan enjoys hiking, baking, and gardening.  He also loves reading sci-fi and drinking tea (which go wonderfully together).  If Ryan was a color he would be indigo.