Peer Support Ambassadors 2024-2025 Bios
Saba Ali, MD
I am a third-year pediatrics resident in the Pediatric Leaders Advancing Health Equity Program (PLUS) at UCSF. As the proud daughter of immigrants and first-generation Pakistani-American Muslim woman, I am deeply committed to advancing immigrant and refugee health and am very passionate about health equity and global health. I know how hard it can be to navigate new systems for the first time, and to find and define one’s sense of identity and belonging when it seems that you are either too much or not enough for the worlds around you. I am very humbled and grateful to have the privilege of serving as a peer support ambassador this year because residency can be exceptionally challenging, and navigating through these experiences and the inevitable moments of hardship along this journey should be never be exacerbated by feelings of isolation or lack of access to support. Our work and our lives do not exist in a vacuum, and I would like to offer a shoulder to lean on for any resident, fellow, or medical trainee who needs it. I would especially like to extend my support to other Muslim residents as there are not always other members in our departments whom we can turn to who share or belong to our same faith community. I look forward to serving in a role where I can help ensure the wellbeing and success of my fellow trainees and hope to help create an environment and support network that empowers us to compassionately serve our patients with the highest care and attention they deserve.
Galen Laserson Bussmann, MD, MBA
I am an Emergency Medicine resident and a mom of two. As a native New Yorker, the community that I have found in the Bay Area over the past 12 years has been essential to making San Francisco feel like home. I chose to become a Peer Support Ambassador because I want to help create that community support for my co-trainees and because I believe that taking care of ourselves and each other is how we can best take care of patients. Prior careers in finance and hospital administration have given me experience in different work environments, and welcoming two children during medical training (my daughter during MS3 year, my son at the end of intern year) has been an adventure of its own! I don’t pretend to have it all figured out – I can go half a day before realizing there are stickers all over the back of my scrubs – but what perspective I have, I am happy to share.
Hannah Decker, MD
I am a general surgery resident, currently spending my research years as a National Clinician Scholar honing my skills as a health services researcher. I am passionate about surgical equity and improving access to high-quality surgical care for all, but especially people who have been historically underserved. I came to UCSF for residency in large part because of the commitment, heart, and excellence of the clinicians at San Francisco General Hospital taking care of our city's most marginalized people and I have been honored to learn so much from my mentors and my patients there. I am interested in supporting humanism during medical training and am eager to serve as a Peer Mentor.
Alexandria Dyer, MD, MPH
As a community organizer at heart, I have continually seen that to care for and organize for the health of a community is to come from a reproductive justice lens. I chose Obstetrics and Gynecology because I wanted to learn and work at the intersections of integrating community-based reproductive health work with the clinical space. To train as an OB/GYN is, for me, an honor and commitment to re-shaping a future where women, gender non-conforming people, and all marginalized people, are heard, cared for, and equipped with tools to lead empowered and health-affirming lives. I am thrilled to be here at UCSF not only for the excellent training but for the commitment and community dedicated to a more equitable system. The Peer Support Ambassador program is an example of exactly that by recognizing how we support and take care of ourselves and each other within medicine reflects the way we care for others. It’s here at UCSF that I know I am being uniquely equipped with the tools, knowledge, and community that will allow me to work toward this more just clinical practice and wider community future. Outside of the clinic and hospital, you can find me playing volleyball, writing, getting to the ocean, making homemade body butters and herbal medicine, studying up on Black/African healing traditions, and working on my Spanish.
Tess Engel, MD
I am a PGY-3 dermatology resident excited to be a part of the peer support ambassador team. Practicing medicine is a great privilege that gives and takes a lot from each of us. I aim to meet my peers where they are, creating space for candid reflection and thoughtful problem-solving. My passions involve expanding access to high-quality care for patients and providers and living life to the fullest through great food, adventures, and connections with others. Everyone is going through something, and we don’t need to do it alone!
Kasey Han, MD
Hi! I am a PGY-2 in Psychiatry, drawn to the field for its commitment to hearing patients' stories and restoring their potential for happiness. As much as I feel happy in Psychiatry, my attendings have impressed upon me the value of the parts that make me a whole human. Outside of the hospital, I am passionate about flying trapeze, spending (too many) hours training and teaching at Circus Center. I am a massive extrovert who thrives in closer, one-to-one relationships, so I love to invest energy into the relationships within and outside of residency that keep all of us afloat. Trained at UCSF for both medical school and now residency, I have had a rich experience here, full of struggles and learning. My goal as a Peer Support Ambassador is to be there for you at our lowest (and highest!) points, to listen to your story, to liaison with resources as helpful, and to help you feel less alone as we navigate the craziness of residency.
Adrian Hernandez Lopez, MD
I am a 3rd-year Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellow at UCSF. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and then attended high school in Bakersfield, California. I identify as a Queer cis-gender male and also a 2nd generation Mexican American with family roots in the indigenous state of Oaxaca, Mexico. My drive to pursue a physician career came from witnessing the inequities in healthcare my mother faced as a Spanish-speaking immigrant who suffered from muscular dystrophy. I was fortunate to attend UCLA for undergraduate and medical school training. I felt a calling to pursue a career as an OBGYN to pay homage to the many female role models in my life including my mother, sisters, aunt, and cousins. I completed my OBGYN residency training at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, where I grew to love caring for patients with high-risk pregnancies, helping them to understand both maternal and fetal complications, and guiding them to make informed and appropriate decisions for their families. This led me to pursue a subspecialty career in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and I feel grateful to be completing my training at UCSF, taking care of a diverse patient population. I also love being a mentor and have been involved in mentorship programs since high school.
John Kanter, MD
John Kanter is a UCSF Neurotrauma Fellow at San Francisco General Hospital. Working as a neurosurgeon and neuro-intensivists focusing on the surgical and medical management of neuro-traumatized patients has given John insight and experience into the mental, emotional, and physical toll that comes with caring for critically ill patients. As a Peer Support Ambassador, he looks forward to supporting the UCSF community.
Chinaza Ochi, MD
Hello! My name is Chinaza and I am a second-year resident in the department of Neurology. My interests in neurology include integrative holistic care, global health and health/healthcare equity especially with work in supporting underserved communities. I have always been drawn to the humanity of medicine and have previously explored it through narrative medicine. I am hoping this peer mentorship can offer another resource for support for people going through residency training and foster a space for candid expression and empowerment. When I'm not at work, I find joy in creative writing, watching TV/movies, hanging out with friends and seeking out adventure.
Sylvia Stellmacher, MD
I am a second-year pulmonary & critical care medicine fellow (PGY-5). I am from Washington
State where I did my medical school and residency training. I am planning on a career serving those living in rural areas, either in Washington State or Montana, where my partner is from. I enjoy medical education, and I hope to support trainees in the often stressful ICU through training as a Peer Support Ambassador. Outside of work, I enjoy downhill mountain biking, running, skate skiing, and reading.
Arvind Suresh, MD
I am a second-year internal medicine resident interested in pursuing a future career in
hematology/oncology. Prior to residency, I attended college and medical school at Dartmouth. My journey to medicine was inspired by my family’s own experiences with chronic disease and my desire to serve as an advocate for patients navigating a complex medical system where their voices aren’t always heard while creating solutions to address health disparities. I am the first physician in my family and am passionate about medical education, near peer mentorship, and physician wellbeing. I have found patience, resilience, and humility to be guiding values during residency and feel fortunate to be able to support and empower fellow physicians during their training as a peer support ambassador.
Sean Wickers, MD
I am a current PGY-3 in the department of pediatrics as well as a rising chief resident at ZSFG, and I truly love what I do. While I feel joy in my work now, it has taken a long process to reconnect with this feeling. I suffered from significant imposter syndrome and depression intern year which impacted every aspect of my life and left me feeling numb and empty at work. This experience changed the way that I view much of medical training, including professionalism and educational growth. Ultimately, I believe it has made me a stronger and a more empathetic teammate and healthcare provider. At the time, however, it felt all-encompassing and completely overwhelming to address. I have first-hand experience navigating a wide variety of UCSF support services, which are in many ways robust but can also be discontinuous, lacking, or otherwise challenging to navigate. I am infinitely grateful to those who supported me, and I find meaning in paying their help forward to others.
