I took a somewhat indirect route to family medicine.
San Francisco public school. English literature. Mayo. UCSF. Medical education. Clown College. Eventually, a primary-care practice in the neighborhood where I have spent much of my life.
I’m from here.
I grew up in San Francisco and New York and went to Lowell High School in San Francisco. I studied English Literature at UC Berkeley before attending Mayo Medical School, then came back to San Francisco for my Family Medicine residency at UCSF. I later completed a UCSF fellowship in Medical Education.
Somewhere in there, I also went to Barnum & Bailey Clown College. That, plus a lot of life experience, taught me to meet people where they are, even if they are nervous about doctors (or clowns).
I began practicing medicine in California in 2000 and am certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. I am licensed in California and New York.
I am also the mom of three grown children. I had my first before medical school, my second during it, and my third while running a busy practice, so I know the balancing act it takes to keep a family going while you work. I have done it, and I do not judge anyone who is in the middle of it. My kids are grown, and I’m settled in San Francisco for the long haul.
My family made me.
My family raised me: my mom, my dad, my grandparents, and my uncle.
My grandparents, Jeanne and Jules Manford, started PFLAG. Growing up around their work taught me that activism is part of life.
It also taught me how strange normal can be for a family. There is no textbook family, and that turns out to be useful when you are someone’s doctor.
More than 20 years in, the range is still what keeps it interesting.
Caring for people and families over the course of their lives has given enormous meaning to my own. I may see a child grow into a teenager, guide an adult through midlife and menopause, or care for parents and children from the same family. I am also there when someone gets a difficult diagnosis. I also have patients who come to me entirely on their own and stay with me for years.
I like the range. One day may include a well-child visit, a teenager, an annual physical, a new symptom, and a complicated decision involving several specialists. I never wanted to practice medicine in only one narrow part of a person's life.
A few facts about me.
Selected writing & publications.
How I practice.
A smaller practice gives me more time with patients and more room to stay involved between visits.
Concierge primary careFamily medicine in Noe Valley, San Francisco.
I am a family physician in San Francisco and see patients through Whole Family MD in Noe Valley.
I care for children, teenagers, and adults across the lifespan, including geriatric care.
My work includes prevention, menopause and midlife care, adolescent primary care, healthy aging, and helping patients make sense of care when several specialists are involved.
I keep a smaller concierge practice so I can have more time for long-term primary care relationships.