Afaf Meleis

Over the course of more than five decades, Dr. Afaf Ibrahim Meleis has demonstrated a profound passion for pushing the boundaries of nursing science, cultivating the next generation of health care leaders and enriching women’s health knowledge and agenda. As the vibrant and forward-thinking Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s, #1 in the World, School […]

Linda Tavaszi, PhD

If there is one phrase that describes Dr. Linda Tavaszi, it is that “she makes the impossible happen.” She has spent her entire adult life supporting the less fortunate, helping community organizations succeed, and mentoring others. She is driven by one goal – making the world a better place. The impact she has made on […]

Evelyn Callas, M.D.

Over the past thirty years, perhaps no other woman has consistently impacted the lives of so many Marin County children as Evelyn Callas. It has been said of her, “She is professional, caring, warm and understanding, unpretentious, low-key and devoted to her young patients. She does it all, from fixing the pediatric department’s broken toys, […]

Patricia Hallinan, M.D.

Patricia Hallinan was one of the first women to graduate from Stanford Medical School. Although she was actively discouraged from pursuing medical studies by some of her professors (who did not want female students), she successfully completed her medical program. When medical internships (other than at children’s hospitals) were routinely denied to women, Patricia Hallinan […]

Cornelia “Toni” Busse

Cornelia “Toni” Busse epitomized the terms self-help, client rights, empowerment, advocacy, risk-taker and visionary. Her fifty years of volunteer service began in her children’s elementary school. From there she went on to volunteer with the Marin Public Health Department, and her work was a sparkplug, igniting others to action. She participated in the formation of […]

Mary Taverna

As a young nurse, Mary Taverna observed that terminally ill patients were lacking adequate, compassionate care. She decided there had to be a way to relieve the loneliness, isolation, and fear that haunted the last days of dying patients. In 1976 Ms. Taverna joined Hospice of Marin, a fledgling organization dedicated to helping people die […]

Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, a 1962 graduate of Cornell Medical School, is a visionary and medical reformer. A pioneer in the development of Holistic and Mind/Body medicine, her life’s work has successfully legitimized and reintegrated the human spirit into contemporary medical care and education. Dr. Remen is Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at […]

Patricia Gibbs

Tricia Hellman Gibbs, MD, is the co-founder — along with her husband of nearly thirty years, Richard D. Gibbs, MD — of the San Francisco Free Clinic. Established in 1993, SFFC’s mission is to provide free accessible medical treatment to those without health insurance, and to advance the field of primary care by providing educational […]