The Social Drivers of Health: Gaps & Opportunities in Pediatrics
A Catalyst to Action

Carol Berkowitz, M.D. FAAP, FACEP, currently Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was graduated from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and did her pediatric residency at the Roosevelt Hospital in New York.  She is a Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics and also served in numerous other national leadership positions including President of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA, now the Academic Pediatric Association), President of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD), Chair of the Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Pediatrics, Chair of the Council of RRC Chairs, President of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS). She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) as well as the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). She was a delegate from the AAP to the AMA and served on the AMA’s Council on Medical Education.

She is a general pediatrician who is also Board-certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and in Child Abuse Pediatrics. She serves as co-chair of the LA County Child Death Review Team and is a deputized coroner, serving as the pediatric consultant to the medical examiners’ office. She serves Chair of the LA County Safe Sleep Committee.

In 2006, she was the recipient of the Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Leadership Award, and in 2007, she received the Abraham Jacobi Memorial Award, an acknowledgement by both the AAP and the AMA of her numerous contributions to the health and well-being of children and to the pediatric community. She is the author of several hundred articles and book chapters and is the editor of Berkowitz’s Pediatrics: A Primary Care Approach, a textbook scheduled for publication as the 7th edition. She is also the editor of Advances in Pediatrics

Of note, she was the 2023 recipient ICAN Angelo Award

Dr. Geeta Grover is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at University of California, Irvine (UCI) and a board-certified Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician practicing at the UCI Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. She is also an attending physician for the teaching clinics at CHOC Children’s Hospital and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  

Dr. Grover did her undergraduate studies in Psychology at Stanford University and received her Doctor of Medicine from University of California, Irvine. She completed both her internship and residency in Pediatrics, as well as a fellowship in Ambulatory Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She has been a practicing pediatrician in Orange County for over 30 years.

As a pediatrician, Dr. Grover’s professional interests focus on ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Learning Disabilities.  She is passionate about health equity and addressing social drivers of health, especially housing and food insecurity, and opportunities gaps in education that impact children’s abilities to achieve their fullest potential.  At the core of all the work she does both in her clinical practice as well as within the community is her passion for children’s reading development.  She writes and speaks about the impact that reading proficiency has on helping to close the achievement gap.  Ultimately, she strives to support children in breaking out of the cycles of poverty and homelessness that impact their families.    

Dr. Grover is active in her community with both professional and community nonprofit organizations. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.  She is a committee member for the AAP National Council on Early Childhood, Council on School Health and the Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.  On a local level, she is an active member of the AAP Orange County Chapter where she serves as the Medical Director for the Reach Out and Read Orange County Affiliate, Advisory Board Member of Clinic in the Park, and Chair of the Social Drivers of Health Working Group.  Since 2019, she has served on the Board of Directors of Illumination Foundation, spearheading initiatives that increase access to quality health care and educational opportunities for children actively experiencing homelessness.  Previously, she has served as a mentor and an advisory board member for Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano College Mentoring Program from 2017-2023, and from 2021-2023, served on the Board of Directors for Serving Kids Hope.  She is grateful for the support of her husband, daughter, extended family and friends who enthusiastically partner with her on her community outreach work.

Pooja Bhalla leads Illumination Foundation’s integrated system of housing and healthcare, an advanced approach to addressing the needs of adults, children, and families experiencing homelessness. Her innovative work includes the creation of IFMG, a private medical group which provides onsite medical and mental health services for Illumination Foundation clients; partnering with CHOC to provide primary care and behavioral health counseling to children experiencing homelessness; expanding Illumination Foundation’s recuperative care program, including creating a female-only recuperative care facility; and spearheading the development of an electronic health record system which uses clinical data and machine learning to generate diagnostic risk scores that can be used to tailor the level of services provided to client needs.

Pooja joined Illumination Foundation in 2017 as Chief Operating Officer, where she directed program operations, development, housing, and implementation of client services. She subsequently became Executive Director of Healthcare Services, where she focused on the complex issue of health equity in order to improve quality outcomes and reduce health disparities among those experiencing homelessness. She had previously worked for Boston Health Care Homeless Program, leading that organization’s efforts in establishing shelter medical clinics throughout Boston.

Pooja sits on the Board of Directors for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, an organization she has belonged to since 2002. She is a member of Adaptive Business Leaders, the Orange County Homeless Death Review Committee, the Family Solutions Collaborative, the Los Angeles Recuperative Care Learning Network, the California Health Care Foundation, and the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She is a graduate of UCLA’s Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program.

Pooja earned her doctoral degree in Nursing Practice at Northeastern University; received her master’s degree in Leadership, Health Policy and Nursing Administration from Northeastern University; and is a graduate of Simmons College of Nursing. Her published articles include “Leadership Development Program for Nurses at a Health Care for the Homeless Program: An Educational Intervention,” published in the Journal of Community Health Nursing; and “CIT [Care, Innovation and Transformation] Project: Creating Innovations in Care for the Homeless in an Outpatient Clinic,” published in AONE: The Voice of Nursing Leadership.

Karen Betances, MSW, LMSW, is a dedicated social worker and administrative leader with over 14 years of experience in the social services field. Holding a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Southern Connecticut State University; she has consistently demonstrated the ability to lead and motivate teams, effectively plan and efficiently execute projects while overseeing operations in the local government and private sectors.

Karen’s expertise spans across the areas of program management, administration, and development with a focus on serving vulnerable populations. Karen began her career in the state of Connecticut working with families and individuals experiencing homelessness. She also gained valuable experience while providing direct services to children in the foster care system. In her current role as the Shelter Programs Manager for the County of Orange, she oversees emergency shelter contracts and operations to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local guidelines

Karen’s previous experience includes serving as the Continuum of Care Administrator within Orange County’s Homeless System of Care, further solidifying her leadership in the field. She is a highly effective communicator and collaborator, known for her ability to foster strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels. As a key member of the County’s Executive Office, Office of Care Coordination, Karen plays a pivotal role in developing and implementing best practices, policies, and procedures within the System of Care to prevent and address homelessness.

Mark Lowry is Director of the OC Food Bank.  During his tenure, the quantity of food distributed by the Food Bank has grown from two million pounds per year to over 26 million pounds annually. Over 300,000 vulnerable people now receive food from the OC Food Bank each month.  During the Food Banks’s COVID disaster response work in 2020, over 63 million pounds of food was distributed. 

Mark also secured funding to launch the OC Diaper Bank during 2020.

As an advocate, Mark works closely with elected officials on the local, state and federal levels, on issues related to social and economic justice.  

Mark has served on the Board of Directors and as an officer of several local, state-wide and national groups, including having served as President of the California Association of Food Banks.  Mark has received numerous awards including having been identified by the Orange County Register as one of Orange County’s 100 Most Influential People, 2015, 2019 and again in 2020. 

The OC Food Bank is a program of the Community Action Partnership of Orange County, a private non-profit charity.

Marian Martin is a third-year resident in UC Irvine-CHOC’s pediatric residency program. During her residency, she has served as the program’s AAP representative and was designated as the AAP Orange County Chapter Resident of the year in 2023-2024. She also had the opportunity to present at the 2024 AAP National Conference on the topic of influenza vaccine hesitancy as a part of her residency’s STAR scholar research program. Pediatric nutrition and advocacy are other particular areas of interest for Marian, and she is excited to share these today. After she graduates from residency this June, she will be starting her career as a primary care pediatrician here in southern California.

As Chief Medical Officer, Richard Pitts, D.O., Ph.D. oversees CalOptima’s health care delivery system, including development and implementation of strategies, programs, policies and procedures. He is responsible for leading key CalOptima departments, including Clinical Operations, Utilization Management, Case Management, Long-Term Support Services, Pharmacy Management, and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Dr. Pitts is a physician and health care executive with a distinguished career spanning clinical practice in emergency medicine and occupational medicine as well as medical group and hospital leadership for organizations such as Kaiser Permanente, Prospect Medical Systems, St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, a 450-bed teaching hospital, where he served as Chief Medical Officer and interim CEO. Dr. Pitts holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Chapman University, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University and a Ph.D. in Management & Decision Sciences from Walden University. He is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Preventive Medicine

Phyllis Agran MD, MPH, FAAP is a pediatrician/pediatric gastroenterologist and professor emeritus (on recall) UC Irvine, Department of Pediatrics, and Institute for Clinical & Translational Science.

In the 1980’s, she founded the Child Injury Prevention Research Unit at UCI focused on translating research into policy, including research supporting the first California Child Seat Restraint Bill (SB 576, 1982) and elimination of travel in the cargo areas of pickup trucks. Currently under her leadership AAP, CA is the sponsor of CA Senate Bill 855: Child Drowning Data Collection Pilot Project, signed into law 9/29/2022. She is a former member of the Executive Committee, National American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Injury & Violence Prevention (COIVPP), the team lead on injury and violence prevention for AAP- California and chairs the Orange County Injury & Violence Prevention Committee. She is a member of the AAP Community Pediatrics and School Health Councils and the American Public Health Association. Dr. Agran is a member of the Irvine Unified School District Medical Advisory Committee and the COVID-19 UCI Healthy Start K-12 School Reopening Committee. Her current research is on prevention of childhood drowning and the impact of COVID-19 on school nurses and school health.

Dr. Agran received the 2020 Pediatrician of the Year Award from AAP-OC and has received an Orange County Medical Association Physician of Excellence award annually for more than 10 years. She invests in mentoring the next generation of health professionals.

Dr. Agran received her BA degree, UC Berkeley; MA in Biology, Boston University; MPH, Harvard University; and MD degree from UC Irvine.

Dr. Sharon Pham is a pediatric hospitalist with Southern California Permanente Medical Group and spends her free time advocating for health policy that will help children thrive and avoid hospitalization. 

She graduated from the UC Davis School of Medicine, where her first experience with health policy advocacy was with the American Medical Student Association.  She chose to specialize in pediatrics expressly because she wanted to collaborate with the village that it takes to raise a child. She completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. 

Her first introduction to legislative advocacy was calling state legislators in 2015 to support Dr. Pan’s bill to remove personal belief exemptions from mandated school vaccines.  She has since furthered her legislative advocacy work by serving as an OC representative to the AAP California State Government Affairs Committee, and now as Co-Chair of the SGA, overseeing the state-level advocacy work of the committee, which represents all four California chapters.

Dr. Pham is a proud fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has found her “people” in the village of pediatricians and other community members working to improve the policies and systems that impact child health, and she is especially thankful for advocacy mentors like Dr. Phyllis Agran.