PROJECT: A pilot program that offers financial services and education, including tailored employment, credit, debt, and budget counseling for low-income communities in South Los Angeles, in a trusted community-based setting.

Mariam Khan is committed to advancing health equity as a relentless advocate for equitable access to opportunity. Her experience growing up without consistent access to health care informed her commitment to raising the quality of life for all by promoting health and well-being.

Khan received her BS in Public Health at Santa Clara University. At the time, she was researching minority stress and seeking to expand access to behavioral health services in the primary care setting. After graduation, she worked for several years as an Oncology Clinical Research Associate in Kaiser San Jose, where she also served on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Steering Committee to pilot trauma-informed care and research the health impacts of early life stress.

Khan is currently earning an MD and a Master’s in Public Health at UCLA. During her graduate studies, she successfully campaigned with her peers for a longitudinal structural racism and health equity medical school curriculum for which she currently serves as a tutor. She also collaborated on policy recommendations addressing California’s failure to protect statute using a harm reduction lens.

Khan ultimately hopes to train as a future primary care leader and work towards health justice through meaningful policy change.