Meet the Team

Jacob A. Bailey, M.D., M.A.

Co-Director, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program
Assistant Director, Program in Medical Education – Health Equity

Dr. Jacob Bailey was raised in a bicultural home in the Los Angeles area. A circuitous route led him from factory work to construction and finally to the research laboratory where he was introduced to the field medicine.

His clinical interests include transitions of care for adolescents and young adults with chronic lung disease and the intensive care unit’s role in the social safety-net. Throughout his career Dr. Bailey has held regional leadership positions in affinity groups, national leadership positions in organized labor and is actively engaged in medical education research and service.

Dr. Bailey earned his doctor of medicine from University of California San Diego School of Medicine and a master of arts in education from University of California Los Angeles. He completed his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at UC San Diego.

Ramón A. Hernandez, DrPH, M.P.H.

Co-Director, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program
Director, Pathways and Community Partnerships, School of Medicine
Section Chief for Community Health, Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Ramón Hernandez has more than 25 years of local and national experience in adolescent and young adult development; minority and urban health; adolescent mental health; and academic diversity and retention programs. His work focuses on increasing the diversity of the health care workforce by nurturing and supporting underrepresented and disadvantaged students along their personal, academic and professional paths. He is the project director for the Hispanic Center of Excellence and the Health Career Opportunities Program (HCOP) and oversees the University Link Medical Science Program (ULMSP), a pathway program for community college students interested in pursuing careers in health care.

Dr. Hernandez serves on the boards for several organizations including the San Diego Chapter of the American Heart Association, California Medicine and Latinas in Medicine. He also sits on the advisory board for Scripps San Diego Border Area Health Education Center (AHEC); Imperial Valley AHEC; UC San Diego’s Hispanic Serving Institution Workgroup; the Environmental Justice committee on San Diego County’s COVID Task Force; and the Mayor’s COVID Work Group Task Force for the City of Imperial Beach.

He received his doctor of public health in maternal child health and master of public health in health service administration from Boston University School of Public Health.

Taylor Rytlewski

Co-Assistant Director, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program
First-Year Medical Student - PRIME-HEq

Taylor was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. After high school, she moved to Northern California and began her academic journey at Santa Rosa Junior College. When she first enrolled, she was uncertain about her long-term career path. Community college became the space where she discovered her passion for physics and began charting a path toward medicine. As a Physics Teaching Fellow and MESA STEM tutor, she developed instructional materials and mentored community college students navigating transfer pathways into STEM fields. As a working, first-generation Latina student, she experienced firsthand the structural and financial barriers that often complicate the path to medicine.

She later earned her B.S. in Biological Physics from the University of California San Diego. At UC San Diego, Taylor conducted research in the Jun Lab, applying quantitative and computational approaches to bacterial physiology. Her work involved using genetically modified strains to measure growth dynamics across environmental conditions. She was a TRELS Research Scholar and recipient of the EDI Excellence Award.

In parallel with her academic training, Taylor has over six years of experience in primary care. She worked her way up from Medical Assistant to Practice Manager. She designed and led clinical workflow optimization, clinician scheduling systems, revenue cycle analytics, and handled complex care coordination. As a manager, she mentored staff with the hope that they would grow into different positions or feel supported enough to pursue their career aspirations.

Taylor’s academic and professional journey enforces why CMSP is such a valuable program. Having taken nearly eight years to complete her pre-medical coursework while working to support herself, she understands the persistence required to navigate non-traditional routes into medicine. She is excited to work alongside CMSP members to strengthen equitable pathways into medicine and support students from community college.

Andrea Sawaya

Co-Assistant Director, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program
First-Year Medical Student - PRIME-HEq

Andrea grew up in Lebanon and immigrated to San Diego in 2020. He began his academic journey at Cuyamaca and Grossmont Community Colleges before transferring to UC San Diego. Early clinical experiences connected him with San Diego’s immigrant community, where he was able to use his multilingual skills (French, Arabic, and Spanish) and his personal understanding of their challenges to make a meaningful impact both inside and outside the hospital. While at Cuyamaca College he joined the pilot cohort of the California Medicine Scholars Program. Beyond campus, he volunteered with Border Angels, a nonprofit supporting migrants and refugees along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Kenneth Bush, M.S.

Project Manager, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Kenneth Bush has dedicated his career to promoting health equity, minority health, and diversity and inclusion in health care. As a California Community College graduate, he intimately appreciates the significance of tailored guidance and individual support at the beginning stages of one’s academic journey. He has participated in and contributed to multiple mentorship programs that promote the success of underrepresented students in health professions, and understands the impact they have on a career development.

Originally from Calexico, Kenneth attended Cerritos College in Norwalk, CA where he began his involvement with Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM), MiMentor, and Medicos Enfermeros Y Dentistas Para El Pueblo (MED PEP). After transferring to California State University, Long Beach, he joined the NIH BUILD (BUilding Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) Scholars Program where he continued his health equity advocacy work and began his career in health outcomes research. He completed a Master of Science in Health Promotion from the University of Oklahoma and returned to Southern California with the skills he developed to advocate for health improvements in his community. Through these experiences, Kenneth has strengthened his belief that there is power in lifting members of the community into positions of leadership and influence to achieve favorable community health outcomes, which is a crucial aim of CMSP.

Sedtavut D. Nilaad, M.S.

Project Coordinator, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Sedtavut Nilaad was born and raised in Thailand before moving to the U.S in sixth grade. He began his community college career in Riverside, California and later transferred to UC San Diego to complete his bachelor’s and master’s degree in microbiology. Sedtavut has always been engrossed in education and mentorship, receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award by UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences. He later began working at the UC San Diego School of Medicine providing academic and organizational support to faculty during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Using his experience from serving as director of recruitment for the Palomar Health Pathmaker Internship, medical student research studies, and his journey through community college himself, he is committed to provide CMSP scholars his support and encouragement to help develop future healthcare leaders.

Suzanne Hughes, MPH, PhD

Evaluation and Data Specialist, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Catalina Maynard

Learning Specialist and Narrative Medicine, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Carissa McMasters

Program Coordinator, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Paul A. Kingston, Ph.D.

Human Anatomy Education Director, Region X California Medicine Scholars Program

Born in northern New Jersey, Paul spent his childhood moving between diverse locations, fostering a seasoned perspective that would later facilitate his atypical career path. As an undergraduate student in Texas, he discovered a passion for zoology, and pursued this passion to earn a PhD in neuroscience from Yale.

Paul’s brief career in neuroscience led him to UCSD, where research came into increasing conflict with his true passion: teaching. Pursuing a pivotal opportunity at San Diego City College, he evolved from enthusiastic amateur to skilled professional educator, and officially changed careers. It was at City College that Paul taught his first course in Human Anatomy.

Now back at UCSD, Paul teaches Anatomy to medical, pharmacy, and undergraduate students, and to middle schoolers competing in the Science Olympiad. Challenging the conventional view of Anatomy as a dry, gruesome subject, he sees instead its beauty, wonder, and enlightenment. Fascinated by the ascendent beauty of the human form, Paul values every opportunity to share his passion for the subject.

Meet the Team

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