Born in South Korea and raised in the greater Los Angeles area, Kevin Riutzel is a family physician currently working in the heart of LA’s Koreatown. The clinic he works at is a federally-qualified health center primarily serving local AAPI communities, many of whom are the 1st generation in their families to immigrate to the U.S.

He has served in several roles for APAMSA including National President for three terms as well as National Pre-med Director, Region XII Director, and local chapter president. He finished his undergraduate studies at UC San Diego and graduate studies at Columbia University. After graduating from Touro University Nevada, he completed his training in family medicine at UC Irvine with a focus on integrative medicine. He served as one of the chief residents while at UC Irvine.

Kevin takes a particular interest in mental health and culturally-sensitive nutritional counseling in AAPI communities along with providing an integrative and holistic approach to the care he offers to the communities he serves. He is not burned out, and he enjoys his job~

Dr. Velotta attended medical school at George Washington University and general surgery residency at UCLA Medical Center. During this time, Dr. Velotta also completed his postdoctoral research in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. Following this, he completed his training in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Velotta’s clinical and research interests involve innovative techniques and regionalization pathways for lung and esophageal cancer as well as pleural mesothelioma. In addition, his most recent research efforts involve improving lung cancer screening uptake in Asian Americans and identifying key factors in the rising incidence of lung cancer in non-smoking Asian women.

Sunny S. Park, MD MPH is double board-certified in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, and Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery. She specializes in reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries of the face and neck, and has a private practice in Newport Beach. After attending UC Berkeley for her BA and MPH, she obtained her MD from Jefferson Medical College. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery at Penn State University followed by a fellowship in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at LSU Shreveport. She has lectured regularly at the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery meetings and has volunteered for medical mission trips overseas, most recently in 2024 to Vietnam. In addition, every year since 2021, Dr. Park has been chosen as a Physician of Excellence in Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery by Orange County Medical Association and Orange Coast Magazine.

Richard So is dedicated to eliminating hepatitis B and liver cancer, with a vision of making the San Francisco Bay Area the first hepatitis B free region in the U.S. He has over a decade of experience in healthcare, including five years as Executive Director of Hep B Free, one of the country’s leading hepatitis B organizations. His background spans healthcare consulting, Peace Corps service in rural Paraguay, and leadership across major coalitions like Hep B United, End the Epidemics, and the California Hepatitis Alliance.

Richard holds dual master’s degrees in public health and public administration from Columbia University. His work has centered on community-powered, culturally responsive strategies to expand hepatitis B education, screening, and care.

Under his leadership, Hep B Free helped secure $8 million from the California legislature for the state’s first chronic hepatitis B demostration projects and co-led the successful passage of AB 789, which requires primary care providers to offer hepatitis B and C screenings. Richard is known for building effective partnerships, scaling innovative programs, and turning grassroots ideas into statewide and national action.

Eric R. Gross MD, PhD, FASA (@ericrgross.bsky.social, @ericrgross) is a physician-scientist and practicing anesthesiologist within the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. He runs a NIH-funded research laboratory studying how alcohol metabolism impacts anesthesiology and in general human health. He is a member of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Neuroscience Institute, and Center for Asian Research and Education (CARE). Dr. Gross is also the section editor for basic science for the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia and the editorial fellowship director for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Today, Dr. Gross will discuss the health implications of alcohol flushing.

Jacob Hwang is a licensed UCI Health specialist in naturopathic medicine. His goal is to combine the latest evidence-based medicine with an integrative, whole-person approach to care, emphasizing health and well-being.

His clinical interests include heart disease and cardiometabolic disease, kidney disease, urological disorders and men’s health. He coordinates with other specialists and integrative health providers to provide additional supportive care options.

Hwang earned his doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash., followed by a one-year residency program at Bastyr University Clinic in San Diego. He went on to complete an additional two-year residency at the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, part of UCI Health.

His passion to empower patients drives his philosophy of care, which is also informed by evidence-based medical practices and patient-centered values.

Dr. Alamshaw is a board certified family medicine physician.  After graduating family medicine residency from USC, as chief resident, he immediately started working for Kaiser Permanente and says after marriage, the 2nd best choice of his life.  He’s been with KP for 26 years now and still enjoys cradle to grave FM.  As a DO, he uses osteopathic manipulation (OMM) maybe 5% of his practice. He is more than happy to use OMM for patients who request it, but will generally choose patients that are maybe an ideal candidate like acute neck pain/spasm from sleeping wrong on a pillow. 

He’s been married for 34 years, and his daughter went to CAL/WUHS and is now a FM resident at KP Sunset.  She just got married 5-25-25, and her husband is an IM resident 2nd year in Long Beach.  His son works in Tech Sales in Scottsdale. For fun, he’s an avid snow skier, loves riding his road bike usually 50-60 miles on weekends, has done a half ironman and loves great food and travel.

Dr. Nguyen is a Family Medicine Physician and Dean’s Scholar at UCI SOM. He has been serving as the faculty advisor for UCI APAMSA and Family Medicine Interest Group. As the Director for Medical Education in FM, Dr. Nguyen oversees various electives for medical students including Gender Health Diversity, Health Equity, and Medical Vietnamese. Dr. Nguyen’s goal is to work with faculty and students in developing a PRIME track to better equip medical students to become future physicians who can provide comprehensive and culturally sensitive care for underserved AANHPI communities.

Dr. Yun-San (Amy) Huang is a double boarded internist and pediatrician, providing primary care at the Wen Ambulatory Care Center in Irvine. Dr. Huang has worked in academic medicine for over 15 years and she joined UC-Irvine as an associate professor in 2022 in the Division of General Internal Medicine.

Medical education has always been Dr. Huang’s passion. She has taught at three different medical schools and along the way created curricula for medical students, residents, and faculty members. She pioneered a global health track and inspired a resident as clinician educator pathway for the residency programs at her previous institutions. At UCI, she leads the Medical Mandarin elective and the Med-Peds Interest Group for medical students.

Dr. Huang strives for a work-life wellbeing and is the Wellness Officer of the Department of Medicine. Outside of work, she can be found doing outdoor activities and exploring new restaurants with her family. She is an avid tennis player and a proud tennis nerd.

Dr. Nguyen serves as the Associate Dean of Career Advising in the Office of Student Affairs at UC Riverside School of Medicine. He guides and supports medical students from career exploration to residency applications to help them reach their desired goals and specialties. He is passionate about underserved medicine and guiding high school and college students to careers in medicine. Dr. Nguyen came to UC Riverside from UC Irvine School of Medicine where he previously was the Assistant Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program and the Medical Director of UC Irvine Health Family Health Center – Anaheim.

Thy Nguyen

Membership Vice President

A.T. Still University – School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona

Philip Nguyen-Powanada

Membership Vice President

University of Arizona COM – Phoenix

Melanie Jun

Region VII Director

University of New Mexico SOM

Carol Chen

Region VII Director

University of Arizona Pre-Health – Tucson

Teresa Anh Tran

Region VII Director

University of Arizona COM – Phoenix

Allison Chang

Region VIII Director

University of California, San Francisco SOM

Naomi Tsai

Region VIII Director

Oregon Health & Science University SOM

Julia Liu

Region VIII Director

Oregon Health & Science University SOM

Matthew Cho

Co-President

UCISOM

Dylan Ta

Co-President

UCISOM

Jazzmhine Oconer

Mentorship Chair

UCISOM

Megan Jung

Mentorship Chair

UCISOM

Gianna Insogna

Health Education Chair

UCISOM

Trinh Woolridge

Community Outreach Chair

UCISOM

Yinuo (Anna) Zhang

Research Grants Chair

UCISOM

Ashley Sun

Advocacy Chair

UCISOM