SHARK Providers
Laura Figueroa-Phillips, MD, MSCE
Clinic Director/SHARK Pediatrics
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Laura Figueroa-Phillips is a general pediatrician and the Director of the Strong Healthy and Resilient Kids (SHARK) Clinic. In her work, she utilizes both medical and holistic therapies to mitigate the effects of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences in her patients. She did her training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and now lives in Long Beach with her artist husband and 3 young kids.
Eric Fein
Pediatrician/ PI of "PRACTICE" Grant
Harbor-UCLA
Eric is the Director of Quality Improvement for Pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Lundquist Institute and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is most passionate about improving health systems for under-resourced kids and their families, especially in the area of behavioral health. Eric is very excited to collaborate with the SHARK team. He has focused on co-creating (with several SHARK team members) a “Collaborative Care Model” that augments the SHARK team with clinical social workers and community health workers. LCSWs and CHWs engage families, assist them with navigating systems, and provide brief assessment and service for families coping with behavioral health challenges like ADHD, PTSD, and depression. In his spare time, Eric enjoys biking, hiking, social dancing, and spending time with his family and friends.
Anna McKinsey
Pediatrician
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital &
High Desert Regional Health Center
Dr. Anna McKinsey is a general pediatrician who specializes in treating patients with developmental & behavioral, mental health, and learning concerns and disabilities. She is passionate about working with patients and families to support early childhood development, build resilience, and heal from trauma. Dr. Mckinsey completed her medical education at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and went on to complete her pediatrics training at UCLA Pediatrics Residency Program here in Los Angeles. Outside of the SHARK clinic, Dr. McKinsey loves to ride her bike, do art, and explore public libraries.
Cecile Yama, MD, MS
Pediatrician
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Cecile Yama is a pediatrician specializing in the health and development of children with medical complexity, behavior concerns and social needs in early childhood. She completed her residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, and completed a clinical fellowship in Infant Complex Care/NICU follow-up at Duke University. She is currently a research fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA and is interested in how to help families address poverty, a key driver of child health, through connecting families to financial resources and government benefits they are owed. When not seeing patients or doing research she likes to hike, garden and spend time with her dogs and family.
Willi Rechler
Pediatrician
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Dr. Willi Rechler (or “Dr. Willi”) is originally from New York and is thrilled to work at her dream job for the SHARK Primary Care and Specialty Clinic at Rancho Los Amigos. Her route to medicine included studying art and public health before attending medical school. She graduated from the Emory School of Medicine for her medical degree, the Rollins School of Public Health for her Master’s in Public Health, and UCLA for Pediatric Residency. She loves to work with families to improve the health of the entire family through mind-body interventions, integrative approaches, and working with our entire SHARK team. Dr. Willi loves going to museums, playing with her two dogs, eating spicy food, and serving her community here in Los Angeles County. She believes being a doctor is one of the greatest privileges a person can have, and she loves meeting new patients and building relationships with them.
Rebecca Tsevat, MD, MS
Pediatrician
National Clinician Scholar
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Rebecca is a physician trained in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics who is currently completing her postdoctoral fellowship in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA. Prior to fellowship, she completed her residency training and chief residency at UCLA. She is excited to be joining the team at Rancho as a part-time primary care pediatrician. In her free time, she enjoys running, traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
Margaret Nkansah
Pediatrician
National Clinician Scholar
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Margaret Nkansah is a current fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA. She trained in the combined Internal Medicine & Pediatrics program and served as a 5th year Med-Peds chief at LA General Medical Center. While she has particular interest in promoting housing stability, she loves to advocate for adults and children in all areas.
SHARK Psychiatrists
Nithya Ravindran, DO
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
Dr. Nithya Ravindran is a dedicated and compassionate Child Psychiatrist with a strong interest in collaborative care and providing comprehensive mental health services to children and adolescents.
Dr. Ravindran completed her medical degree at Michigan State University in 2015 followed by a residency in Psychiatry at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She further specialized with a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, also at Tulane University. After training, Dr. Ravindran was recruited to establish a fellowship program in child psychiatry at Charles R. Drew University in South Los Angeles, where she holds a faculty position as Assistant Clinical Professor and Associate Program Director in the Department of Psychiatry.
She directs the child psychiatry clinic at Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, CA where she supervises fellows, residents and medical students. Her professional areas of interest include holistic and integrative medical care for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma – incorporating mindfulness, movement, breathwork, and relationship building in addition to judicious use of pharmacotherapy. She also employs psychotherapy and parent support in every clinical encounter, with a background in psychodynamic psychotherapy and attachment-based infant mental health. Her advocacy efforts are aimed at understanding and decreasing health disparities in marginalized communities that result from systemic and structural policies. In her free time, Dr. Ravindran enjoys yoga, riding her bicycle, creative pursuits in art, music and dance, and building community with friends, family, neighbors and colleagues.
SHARK Nursing
Daisy Gaytan
Registered Nurse
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
I have been at Rancho for over 13 years. I started my career in the Spinal Cord Injury unit and instantly fell in love with Rancho and the patients we serve. Working in rehab and now in Outpatient Pediatric clinic has truly been a driving force in what I do as a nurse and gives me motivation to be the best nurse I can be.
SHARK Program Director
SHARK Social Workers
Jessica Vazquez, LCSW
Senior Clinical Social Worker
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
My name is Jessica Vazquez and I am one of the social workers here at SHARK. In my role here at SHARK I enjoy so many things, from working with families, to community health workers, to doctors and nurses. I feel that all of us as a team truly help these families get connected to the services they need. While not at work I enjoy spending time with my family and traveling. My favorite place to be is with the ocean.
Desiree Pillars-Lopez
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Harbor-UCLA
I am an LCSW working with the PRACTICE/SHARK team. I have a background working in psychiatric inpatient hospitals, schools, as well as working within private practice. I enjoy getting to work with such a collaborative and innovative team to help make a difference in children and families daily lives. I went to college in Northern CA where I got a BA in Child and Adolescent Development and moved back to LA
SHARK Community Health Workers
Jasmine Lona
Community Health Worker
Harbor-UCLA
I love being with my family and going on adventures.
Leslie Benitez
Community Health Worker
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
My name is Leslie Benitez and I am a Community Health Worker at SHARK where I enjoy helping families connect to different services . On my free time I love playing tennis and spending time with my family.
Anais Yanez
Community Health Worker
Rancho Los Amigos Hospital
My name is Anais, I am a community health worker from Rancho Los Amigos. I previously worked at Harbor UCLA in conjunction with Rancho and the Shark Clinic. When needed I enjoy researching resources and establishing services to help families. When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and children and attending their sport games, or simply enjoy the nice quietness at home.
Lauren Lopez
Community Health Worker
Harbor-UCLA
CHW w/ ACES PRACTICE Team. B.A in Psychology. I love to spend my free time hiking with my dog and hanging out with family.