About Me

I  grew  up  in  Southern  California.  I  spent  a  lot  of  time  at  the  beach  and  travelling. I was  raised  to  value the  power  of  education , especially  of  girls, our interconnectedness  as  a  human  family,  and  that  our  divisions and  suffering are  ultimately  rooted  in  how  we  treat  one  another.   I  believe  that  story  and  art  has  the  power  to  nurture,  transform,  and  better  us  all. And  I  know  that  our  health  care  efforts  need  to value  that  power.  

I  am curious  about  nearly  everything.  That’s  led  me  down  some  beautiful  paths,  the  most  important  to  my  heart  being  getting  to  watch  my  four  kids  grow  up , with  my  husband  beside  me. 

Some  interesting  tidbits  about  me:  

* I  spent  5  years  dancing flamenco  under  the  mentorship  of  Celina  Zambon  —  who  danced  alongside  Dustin  Hoffman  in  Little  Fockers.

* I‘ve  eaten  Jiffy  peanut  butter  in  the  former  USSR.

* I  realized  I’d  apply  to  medical  school  while  walking  along  a  beach  in  Honduras —  where  I  voluneered  at  a remote  village  hospital.

*  One  of  my  strangest  experiences  has  been watching  the  Ms.  Universe  pageant  (not  by  choice!)  while  riding  on  a  bus  through  the  Malaysian  rainforest. 

*  I  love discovering  new  music  to  listen  to,  and  find  some  of  the  best  poetry  in  song  lyrics. 

*  Singing  and  dancing ( all  art,  really)  are  a  daily  medicine  I  can’t  live  without.

*  I  will never  turn  down  a  hot  cup  of  tea  or  chocolate  covered  strawberries. 

I write poetry and create stories to compel and foster the health and human connectIons needed to create a better world. 

I  write  for  children  of  all  ages.  My  picture book, When You Breathe (Cameron  Kids,  a  division  of  Abrams), is  a poetic and  mindful  introduction to respiration,  brought  to  life  by  the  exquisite  fine  art  of  Billy  Renkl.  My verse novel, Wave (Cameron  Kids,  a  division  of  Abrams), released  on March 29th, 2022. In it, poetry and music as healing forces take center stage. 

My poems have been presented in journals, gallery exhibits and live story telling events. Some of them are calls to action on what needs to change in modern health care. One such poem, Dear Medicine, was included in a groundbreaking 2019 report by the National Academy of  Medicine, Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout — an issue close to my heart. 

You can watch my feature length documentary film, American Rhythms, at my YouTube channel. It’s a film love letter to the power of music and rhythm in child health.

I care for patients as a primary care physician at Stanford University, where I focus on adolescent, college and young adult health. I am an an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Stanford’s Medical School. I‘ve served as the Assistant Director of the Program in Bioethics and Film at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and teach as an Affiliated Faculty and Steering Committee member of its Medical Humanities and Arts Program. I’m a product of a Peace Studies Degree at UC  Berkeley and Child and Family Public Health fellowship, with a  storytelling for health Impact focus, at UCLA — both infuse my art and doctoring work.

@_songelixir, I cover songs and bring attention to issues dear to me, often related to the wellbeing of women and children.