Although I was born in Houston, I grew up in Fort Worth, TX where I was an active volunteer with both KERA (PBS affiliate) and the Hip Pocket Theater.  After graduating high school from Trinity Valley School, I decided that I wanted to explore the East Coast.  I majored in Chemistry with a minor in Anthropology at Boston University.  I then did a one-year term of service with AmeriCorps where I worked as a reproductive health educator in a school-based health center in the Bronx, NY.  Living and working in the Bronx for a year made me a New York state resident, so I attended medical school at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY. Downstate gave me a great opportunity to care for patients from so many different backgrounds and countries. 

While I appreciated the fast-paced atmosphere in medical school, I decided I wanted a more home town and community-based approach in residency.  I matched at Summa Health System in Akron, OH for my general surgery residency.  Summa is the birthplace of Lebron James, Steph Curry, and my son!  During my time at Summa, I had the fortune of rotating at the Cleveland Clinic, which is where the textbooks in colon and rectal surgery are literally written.  This solidified my desire to specialize in colon and rectal surgery, a field that combines my love of surgery, addressing uncomfortable topics, and longitudinally caring for both patients and their families.  I completed my fellowship at Allegheny Health Network in a unique environment where I rotated in both Erie, PA and Pittsburgh, PA.  This gave me the wonderful learning experience of practicing both small town, community colorectal surgery and urban center academic colorectal surgery.  I had my second child during fellowship, and my husband and I decided we both wanted to be closer to family. 

I had the great opportunity of working with Sharif Surgical and am now a happy member of Fort Worth Colon and Rectal Surgery Associates.  Although I grew up in Fort Worth, none of my medical or surgical training has taken place in the state of Texas.  I get to be both a hometown girl and bring in my outside training and experiences to benefit the community that helped build the person I am today.  Whether it’s through patient education, a medication, or an operation, I feel privileged to use my training and experience to serve others for years to come.