Nancy Rodriguez is a third-year medical student at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine (SOM). Her commitment and passion to address health inequities and social injustices in underserved Latino communities, has provided the fuel to pursue a career in medicine and inspires her to become a leader in her community.

Nancy, grew up in South Gate, California, and proudly is a first-generation Central-American college graduate and the first to pursue a career in medicine. After graduating South Gate High School, Nancy attended UCLA and majored in Psychobiology. While at UCLA, Nancy became a student leader in organizations like the Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM) and the Latino Student Health Project (LSHP), where she was involved in mentorship and organizing health fairs in underserved communities and quarterly health clinics in Tecate, Mexico, to provide free health services. Her experience at UCLA led to her pursuing her Masters in Public Health with an International Health emphasis at Boston University.

Prior to attending medical school, Nancy garnered extensive experience working in community organizations and primary care clinics, where she continued to develop her skills in addressing health disparities. After graduate school, Nancy joined the Venice Family Clinic (VFC), as the Director of the Health Education Department and Integrative Medicine/Specialty Care Program Manager. During her time at VFC, she expanded, strengthened and developed programming that addressed health disparities in her community and allowed her to develop into the leader she is today.

In medical school, Nancy has continued her commitment to community engagement, leadership, diversity and mentorship through her role in the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), the Family Medicine Student Interest Group and other student-led initiatives. She has organized lectures on diversity, health policy, wellness, and medical Spanish on her campus. Further, she was involved in developing a community engagement curriculum for medical and nursing students at UC Davis, called Partners in Transforming Community Health (PITCH), which is designed to encourage future health professionals to become leaders in the communities that they are serving.  Nancy hopes to become a culturally responsive primary care provider and leader in her community, as well as be involved in training the next generation of health professionals to address the health care gap that exists in underserved communities.