Dr. Brian Ruiz joins us from his hometown of Reseda, CA. After completing his undergraduate studies at UC Riverside, he went on to work in diverse fields, including software engineering, information technology, neuroscience research, education, and clinical laboratory science. He then returned to the classroom to obtain his Master of Science and medical degrees at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. He enjoys discovering new restaurants and food, music, repairing and upgrading cars, and computers and new technology.
Dr. Landon Whittington is from Houston Texas. After obtaining a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M we worked on offshore oil platforms. He then changed careers and went to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He once biked from Coos Bay Oregon to Eureka California. He is excited to move to Humboldt County with his wife and two children. His hobbies include most outdoor activities, traveling, and playing or watching sports.
Dr. Fullerton-Nelson was raised in Jersey City, NJ and Mill Valley, CA. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she worked for Planned Parenthood and Interplast as a Spanish-English interpreter in Ecuador. She once trekked across the Andes and got lost in a storm by a glacier. She survived the ordeal to attend UCSF medical school. After UCSF, she trained in emergency medicine at Stanford, worked as a domestic violence advocate, and then practiced pediatrics full time in a house with 4 children. She hopes her experiences raising kids will enable her to be a compassionate, sensitive family medicine physician. Her hobbies include adventure travel, dance, music and nature photography.
Dr. Daniel Heyn is originally from Damascus, Maryland but has also lived in Tennessee, California, and Arizona. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, he spent three years in Zambia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He then went to medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. Daniel is looking forward to practicing family medicine and ultimately hopes to open his own practice. He loves hiking, gardening, and archery, and is always looking for his next favorite hobby.
Dr. Tim Mahanes is originally from Lexington Kentucky, but has lived in Seattle, Atlanta, Catalina Island, Australia, and New Zealand. Prior to completing medical school at the University of Louisville, Tim was working as an environmental consultant in Melbourne Australia. Though he loved his job and his wandering ways, he decided to use his diverse background and easy-going personality to connect to patients in the healthcare setting. Traveling, fitness, photography woodworking and cooking are some of his favorite hobbies. During residency he hopes to create a strategy that allows him to address healthcare needs in underserved communities, while enjoying going through the hundreds of thousands of photos that he has collected over the years.
Dr. Ryan McHenry was born and raised surfing in Santa Cruz California. After graduating from the University of California in San Diego he once ran across the United States. He obtained his medical degree from the Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo CA where he also completed a one year pre-doctoral OMT fellowship. As a D.O., he is looking forward to providing medical care to the Humboldt community in mind, body, and spirit. Outside of medicine, Dr. McHenry is an avid surfer, runner, and father who loves Rock n' Roll music.
Dr. Brian Stone grew up in Southern California. He received his B.S. from the University of Michigan. Prior to attending medical school, he worked as an EMT and volunteered in homeless shelters and after-school education programs in underserved areas. He then attended medical school at the University of Toledo. He is passionate about family medicine and forming relationships with patients. His hobbies include computer science, cooking, and playing piano.
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Dr. Valerie Williams received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Outside of work, she enjoys serving in her church and leading community events focusing on food and housing security. She loves hiking, skiing, snowboarding, and playing golf with her husband and children. Dr. Williams looks forward to learning from and serving the residents of Humboldt County.
Dr. Higgins grew up in Vermont, always in the woods, and moved to Alaska for several years, until a love of language and culture led her to live and work in South America, India, and the Middle East for about 15 years. Along the way, she always immersed herself in art and dance, creative exploration of any kind, and the natural world, including stints like working with a circus in a tiny town in Brazil. "I love teaching and working with kids and families, where I also am always learning. I went to medical school at the Ben Gurion University in Israel for their focus in primary care and love the way family medicine interweaves stories of our lives into health in an endless variety of ways."
Dr. Luiza Mnatsakanyan grew up in Armenia where her interest in medicine started when she became acutely aware of how traditional cultural values could mitigate against attention to health. "It was shameful for people to experience pain or be sick. Unfortunately, when patients sought medical care, they faced uncertainty and even hostility from providers." Her family later moved to Glendale, California and she did her undergraduate work at the University of California Irvine. She received her medical degree from William Carey University, College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Dr. Mnatsakanyan is passionate about providing care in underserved areas and forming long lasting relationships with her patients. Outside of medicine, she enjoys music, reading, and traveling.
Dr. Maya Urva was born and raised in the East Bay of the Golden State, but by the end of high school decided it was time for a change and jumped continents, traveling approximately 5,078 miles to complete medical school in Dublin, Ireland at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. After developing a wealth of hobbies*, a higher-than-expected pain tolerance, and a passion for family medicine, Dr. Urva (the second!) worked a year as a doctor in County Galway, Ireland before returning home to California to complete a family medicine residency in one of the coolest programs in the country! (*These hobbies include but are not limited to: video games, playing music, taekwondo, and drawing.) learning many many more.
Dr. Xiong grew up in the Hmong community in Merced in the central valley of California. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California at Davis and remained there for her medical training where she was a member of their Rural PRIME program which was created “ to train the best and the brightest medical students for a fulfilling career in a rural community. “ She states “My goal in pursuing medicine remains a simple one: become one more Hmong physician serving medically underserved communities like mine. I am the first person in my clan to attend medical school, a badge of honor I wear proudly”. Her hobbies are many and include cooking, exploring outdoors, camp, hike,, running (completed 2 half marathons), and training my dogs (chocolate lab and blue heeler).
Dr. Sung Jae Choi graduated from Korea University Medical College in Seoul Korea. He trained in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Korea University Ansan Hospital and then practiced and taught Rheumatology. His primary interests were chronic pain including fibromyalgia, gout and osteoarthritis. Now, as a new resident in family medicine, his interests are shifting towards a more holistic approach and preventive medicine. In Humboldt County he found kind people, amazing forests and seashore which made him want to train in this rural area. Outside hospital, he likes to spend time with his family. He also likes to run half marathons and make YouTube videos on his marathon training on his channel “@doctor-runner TV”
Dr. Adam Hall grew up in Pennsylvania, and studied chemistry at Bowdoin College before moving to the west coast. After college he worked in construction trades, on small vegetable farms, and more lately as a firefighter and EMT. Adam met his wife Brianne in Humboldt county before they moved to Oregon where Bri completed her master’s degree in clinical counseling and Adam earned a master’s degree in nutrition before completing his medical degree at College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific’s NW campus in Lebanon, Oregon. Adam and Brianne enjoy whitewater rafting and other watersports, gardening, and cooking. They are excited to be back in Humboldt county where they can share their activities with their daughter.
Dr. Tim Moore was born and raised in Rochester, MN. He attended undergrad at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN where he majored in Biomedical Sciences and minored in American Indian Studies. He was also a member of the SCSU Wrestling team and was a part of two NCAA Div. II National Championship teams—the first in school history! He then went on to attend medical school at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Moore has a passion for rural, frontier and Indigenous health, and plans to serve the medical needs of Indigenous communities after residency. His hobbies include camping, trout fishing, hiking, staying fit, and spending time with his wife, Faith, and two corgis, Rocky and Rambo.
Dr. Savanna Thompson was born and raised in Humboldt County in the small town of Blue Lake. She went to the Oregon Institute of Technology for undergraduate studies and then completed medical school at UC Davis where she was a proud member of the Rural-PRIME program. She has a special interest in sports medicine and hopes to complete a sports medicine fellowship after residency. She is dedicated to serving the community of Humboldt and feels honored to be completing residency training here at her home. In her free time she enjoys working on her farm, going to the gym, and relaxing with her big family.
Dr. Prastuti Shrestha was born and raised in Nepal, went to high school in Santa Rosa, California, and received her medical education from Kathmandu University nestled in the Himalayas in Nepal. She has volunteered in residential health camps and practiced in rural Nepal and is passionate about serving rural communities. Outside of medicine, she enjoys hiking and singing with her husband, scrapbooking, and writing poetry.
Dr. Paul Simon joins us from the sun-kissed shores of San Diego, CA. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley where his conversations and interactions with the city's homeless population strengthened his commitment to medicine as a means to recognize the humanity of each person. He went on to obtain his medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. Always "a child at heart," Dr. Simon jumps from one adventure to the next excited to meet new people and learn their stories. He enjoys a day at the beach, playing with cars, and being outdoors.
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Dr. Karthik N. Thenkondar graduated from Sri Ramachandra Medical College in India. He has been living in Los Angeles and working in Urgent Care medicine for the past 10 years. Outside of medicine, he enjoys reading books, staying active, traveling, exploring new cities and cultures, live music, and trying new cuisines.
