First FACES grad accepted to medical school!  Congratulations to Linh Dao, class of '03

Linh Dao is the first graduate of the FACES for the Future program at Children’s Hospital Oakland to be accepted to medical school. Linh attends David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

After graduating from the Life Academy High School in Oakland, Linh attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a BA in integrative biology.


Linh was already reaching high as a FACES student during this ropes course. We wish her continued success!

Congratulations to Tomás A. Magana, MD, recipient of the Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award

Tomás A. Magana, MD, a co-founder of the FACES for the Future program at Children’s Hospital Oakland, has been named one of three Champions of Health Professions Diversity award winners by The California Wellness Foundation. At a June 15 ceremony in Los Angeles, Dr. Magana received his award, along with a check for $25,000.

In 2000, Dr. Magana, a member of Children’s Hospital Oakland’s Medical Staff on the Adolescent Medicine team, helped found FACES for the Future, a program designed to prepare disadvantaged high school students from under-represented ethnic groups for careers in healthcare and biomedical professions. His co-founder, Barbara Staggers, MD, is president of the Medical Staff at Children's Hospital and division chief of Adolescent Medicine at Children's.

FACES offers students internships, mentorship, psychosocial support, and hands-on activities with clinicians at Children’s Hospital Oakland as part of its program. “Too many decisions are made without representation from our young kids, “said Dr. Magana. “Many of them have the answers. In fact, they’re some of the brightest and most insightful individuals in our community. Any service designed to serve young people—especially our most at-risk—must incorporate their voices.”