William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Fellows
2023
Misty Fils, MS, PA-C
Misty (Meredith) Fils is Assistant Professor and Director of Didactic Education at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science’s PA Program. She is passionate about equity and representation in medicine, and strives to create an academic environment where all learners can be their authentic selves. Misty also serves as the Assistant Medical Director at the Interprofessional Community Clinic, the university’s student-led free clinic, where she cares for underserved members of the Lake County community. As a mentor to future clinicians from multiple professions, Misty works to lead by her example of proudly providing high-quality, patient-centered care that empowers those who may be marginalized or overlooked.
Brandon Guth, PA-C
Brandon Guth is a PA at Reid Medical Associates in Richmond, IN. He previously worked as a primary care provider at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), providing care to a high percentage of Medicaid, Medicare, and self-pay patients. At this FQHC, PA Guth started the first hepatitis C treatment program at a primary care office in Wayne County, IN. He treated over 60 patients with hepatitis C within the first couple of years of the program’s inception. After starting that program, he also began offering medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Hepatitis C and opioid use disorder are two prevalent disease states in Wayne County and often go together. It became a common occurrence for him to see patients struggling with both of these ailments, and he says he found it fulfilling to help them treat both. PA Guth has since helped train other providers in treating hepatitis C. At his current practice, he sees around 50% Medicare/Medicaid patients on a daily basis. He is now bringing opioid use disorder treatment and hepatitis C treatment at the primary care level to the largest hospital organization in his county.
Daisy Rivera, PA-C, AAHIVS
Daisy Rivera is a clinical PA and clinical manager at Tower Health, St. Christopher’s SCPA, in Philadelphia, PA, where she was born and raised. Her parents are from Puerto Rico and came to Philadelphia as teenagers. In accompanying her mom to her medical appointments and noticing that providers did not look like them or speak their language, she vowed she would help and serve her community. She became the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. One of her early jobs at a pharmacy led her to shadow two PAs, one in pediatrics and the other in HIV. PA Rivera has now been at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the immunology department providing multidisciplinary patient/family-centered pediatric, adolescent, and young adult primary care and HIV specialty care for almost 16 years. She is an advocate for the PA profession as well as her community. She has been appointed director of PA studies and precepts students. She serves on the hospital’s Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Council, co-chairs the LGBTQIA+ initiative, and sits on the Population Health Committee. When asked why she does all that she does, she says she is striving to have the voices of her community, minorities, and the PA profession heard as we work to end health inequities and disparities.
Sampath Wijesinghe, DHSc, PA-C, AAHIVS
Sampath “Sam” Wijesinghe, DHSc, PA-C, AAHIVS, is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Director of Career Development at Stanford School of Medicine’s MSPA program. He is committed to primary care medicine in underserved areas of Central Valley, California. As a CDC Clinical Ambassador, he promotes the “Let’s Stop HIV Together” campaign and encourages clinicians to engage in HIV medicine. He was a National Health Service Corp (NHSC) Scholar and started practicing in underserved in 2010. As a medical/PA educator and clinical preceptor, he has a strong passion for shaping the next generation of PAs. He is a sought-after speaker and lecturer at national and state conferences. He has contributed to medical literature with articles in peer-reviewed journals, chapters in medical textbooks, and a book called “101 Primary Care Case Studies” to foster competent and compassionate skills. He inspires both current and aspiring clinicians to get involved in underserved areas, contributing to solutions for healthcare disparities.
2022
Shelley Irving, MSPAS, PA-C
Shelley Irving is an assistant professor and site director of the Morehead Campus of the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences PA Studies (UKPAS) Department. A 2008 alum of the UKPAS Morehead Campus, she joined faculty in 2016 and serves as chair of admissions and on the clinical team. Shelley has 11 years of experience practicing rural primary care in eastern Kentucky and continues to care for underserved patients in the region through work as a volunteer provider and member of the board of directors for People’s Clinic in Morehead, KY. Primary interests include preparing future PAs for practice in underserved areas to improve the health and well-being of Kentuckians. She serves as a fellow of the UK Center for Interprofessional Health Education and member of the CME Committee for the Kentucky Academy of PAs.
Ziemowit Mazur, PhD, EdM, PA-C
Ziemowit Mazur, PhD, EdM, PA-C, DFAAPA, is an Associate Professor and Associate Director for the Rosalind Franklin University Physician Assistant (PA) Program. He practices as a volunteer at a pro bono clinic that serves the uninsured population within the Lake County community. At this clinic, he works alongside an interprofessional group of health profession students dedicated to providing care to vulnerable and underserved patients. His dedication to research was sparked as a former recipient of the prestigious Don Pederson Research Grant from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). He has authored several articles in peer-reviewed journals, speaks regularly at national seminars, and authored chapters in medical textbooks. He serves as a site visitor for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and was an elected appointee to the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) House of Delegates from the state of Illinois. More recently, he was appointed to serve on the Diversity in Health Care Professions Task Force through the Illinois Department of Public Health, where he co-chairs the education sub-committee. He was inducted into Pi Alpha National Honor Society for PAs and has a strong dedication to mentoring future PAs and PA educators.
Neha Sandeep, PA-C
Neha Sandeep, PA-C, is a family medicine PA practicing at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) Union Square Family Health in Somerville, MA. She completed her PA studies at Boston University School of Medicine in 2019. Shortly after she began working at CHA, she joined a team that founded CHA’s Acute Care Center (ACC), an outpatient clinic dedicated to managing patients with symptoms of COVID-19 infection. She then transitioned from the ACC to work full time in a family medicine clinic at CHA. In her current role, she sees patients of all ages from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Since she began her career as a primary care PA, she has trained many PA, NP, and medical students. She has a particular interest in fostering interprofessional learning amongst medical trainees and serves as faculty for a weekly interprofessional student clinic.
Quana Ticket, PA-C
Quana Ticket is a PA and community health aide instructor at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska, where she has worked for five years. She previously worked at the Southcentral Foundation for 11 years. Prior to becoming a PA, she worked in an OB/GYN clinic as a certified medical assistant. She has also worked as a medical assistant in a family medicine clinic and as a community health aide in the village of Selawik, Alaska. She earned her PA degree through the University of Washington’s MEDEX program and the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is Alaskan Native of Inupiaq descent.
2021
Joseph Desrosiers II, MSPAS, PA-C
Joseph Desrosiers II, MSPAS, PA-C, is a PA and cofounder/CEO at Stillwater Primary Care in Chepachet, Rhode Island. He also serves as director of clinical services and volunteer PA at Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic, where he provides clinical care to uninsured patients and oversees the clinic’s community walk-in health screening site, and volunteer medical director of the Foster/Glocester COVID Vaccine MED-PODS. Joseph is an adjunct faculty member and clinical preceptor at Bryant University PA Program and a PA clinical preceptor at MGH Institute. He volunteers with Special Olympics RI, assisting with the event medical team, and Operation Stand Down RI, conducting blood pressure and health screenings for homeless veterans.
Ana Ruiz, MHA, PA-C
Ana Ruiz, MHA, PA-C, has been a PA since 2011 and has experience in family medicine, geriatrics, and healthcare administration. She has worked as a PA and administrator at federally qualified health centers and clinics that serve patients in primary care shortage areas. Ana currently serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking immigrant community in San Fernando, California. She is the co-founder of Vida Mobile Clinic, a 501(c)(3) volunteer-run organization that provides healthcare to uninsured individuals and mentors future healthcare providers. As Vida’s co-founder, Ana has helped establish mentorship opportunities for first-generation college students and students from under-resourced backgrounds. She has been a preceptor for PA programs and other disciplines since 2012. Ana is proud to advocate for underrepresented and marginalized communities, fighting for social justice and health equity.
2020
Cynthia Bunde, MPAS, PA-C
Cynthia Bunde, MPAS, PA-C, has been a PA since 2000 and has experience in psychiatry, OB/GYN, and family practice. She works clinically at the Pocatello Free Clinic (PFC) in Pocatello, ID, providing primary care for low-income, uninsured adults, and has taught at Idaho State University as an assistant professor of PA studies since 2006. As a provider at PFC, she works daily to advocate for and identify resources for low-income populations, and has successfully reduced the clinic’s medication costs while still helping with patient prescription compliance. She also serves as a preceptor for students of multiple disciplines, with an aim to teach cultural competence in the classroom and engage students with the PFC patient population. She volunteers with Homeless Stand Down (coordinator for medical services), Pocatello Night Out (outreach in low-income housing), Medical Reserve Corps (COVID test site volunteer), ISU Health Fair, PFC fundraising initiatives, and the Idaho Epilepsy Foundation.
Erin Fitzpatrick Lepp, MMSc, PA-C
Erin Fitzpatrick Lepp, MMSc, PA-C, is a clinical associate professor for the Mercer University PA Program and serves as coordinator for service-learning and community engagement, with over 15 years of experience as a medical educator. She practices at a free clinic in Clarkston, GA, providing primary care and chronic disease management to resettled refugees and mentoring PA and medical students on the care of vulnerable and underserved patients. She has authored numerous private foundation grants to enhance care for the working poor and has twice been honored as “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Georgia Association of PAs. She volunteers as quality improvement liaison to the Georgia State Office of Rural Health’s Advisory Board for Farmworker Health, where she contributes her clinical expertise as a PA and diabetes educator to improve the health of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families throughout Georgia.
2019
Amanda Roy, PA-C
Amanda Roy, PA-C, practices at Asher Community Health in Fossil, OR. As a National Health Corp Scholar (NHCS) during her PA education, Amanda spent the majority of her rotations in rural and underserved locations, and chose to continuing practicing in a rural frontier community after completing her NHSC requirements. She has developed and led several community health initiatives and health fairs, including a diabetes fair and children’s health fair. Amanda serves as a preceptor for Pacific University School of PA Studies, where she teaches on the rural healthcare track and mentors at least five students each year. She integrates the students into her primary care clinic and community initiatives, promoting passion for rural primary care and underserved medicine.
James “Rick” Kilgore, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA
Rick Kilgore, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA, practices as a volunteer provider at the Community of Hope Health Clinic in Pelham, AL, serving uninsured patients with limited access to healthcare. He retired as program director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham PA Program, and is the founding director of the Firehouse Shelter Interprofessional Medical Screening Clinic, a student-led clinic to address healthcare screening, health education, and treatment referrals at a shelter for homeless men. Since 2014, he has supervised the clinical rotation of hundreds of PA students, and is now working to develop rotations that give students an opportunity to provide care to uninsured, non-English speaking patients and develop their skills in patient communication and education.
