Residency Leadership Group

The Residency Leadership Group (RLG) consists of the Program Director, core faculty and other faculty who play an important role in overseeing rotations or other curriculum. This group meets regularly to review the status and future direction of the residency program.

The faculty listed below are those RLG members who are in addition to the Program Director and core faculty. Most of the faculty below also serve as advisors to residents.

Karen Alingog, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Geriatric and Ortho Course Supervisor, Preceptor
Clinical Focus Area: Family Medicine Clinic

I developed a passion for service while growing up in the Philippines and eventually found my calling through completion of my medical training at UCLA medical school in 2005 followed by Family Medicine residency at CCRMC in 2008. Since then, I have enjoyed various roles in the residency program from preceptor, advisor, ambulatory core group co-chair, assistant program director, course supervisor, UCSF faculty development fellow and RLG member. Currently I’m a RLG member, geriatric and orthopedic rotations supervisor, preceptor at PHC, and an advisor. Outside of medicine, I love spending time with family & friends, especially with my two young children. After a 17-year hiatus from dancing, I’m grateful to have found a supportive studio where I dance three times per week and perform twice a year.

Lilian Chan, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Course Supervisor Ambulatory Pediatrics and Family Reproductive Health
Clinical Focus Area: Labor & Delivery, Reproductive Health, Addiction Medicine

I came to medicine after a few years of working in special education and my time in the Peace Corps.  My upbringing, which involved immigrating from Burma, instilled in me the values of sacrifice and resilience, while also exposing me to the richness of diverse cultures, a tapestry I encounter and enjoy daily in my work with underserved patients. I received my training in the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington and Swedish Cherry Hill, where my enthusiasm grew for obstetrics, reproductive health, and addiction medicine.  Coming to work at Contra Costa County allowed me to combine the areas that I felt most passionate about (delivering babies, working with patients with addiction issues, and providing abortions) with an incredibly diverse patient population — all close to where I and my partner met and grew up, and where our parents live.  During my eight years here, my role has evolved to become even more meaningful through teaching residents.  I now serve as a reproductive health lead for the residency. In my leisure time, I enjoy staying active and spending quality moments with my husband, son, and our beloved dog. Whether it's camping, hiking, witnessing California's stunning sunsets, or bonding over cooking and bike rides, I cherish the joys of family and the great outdoors.

Matthew Fentress, MD (he/him)

Residency Faculty: Co-Director, Global Health and Ultrasound Program

Clinical Focus Area: Ambulatory Medicine, Inpatient Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Global Health, Point-of-care Ultrasound

 I’m passionate about improving access to high-quality care for vulnerable patients locally and around the world.  While I was a medical student at UC Davis, I came to Contra Costa as a sub-I and was immediately drawn by the strong focus on caring for the underserved and the wonderful, compassionate people I met working here.  After completing my residency and global health fellowship here at Contra Costa, I joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), working with displaced populations in Myanmar, South Sudan, and the US-Mexico border.  I enjoy working with residents in the clinics and hospital, teaching point-of-care ultrasound, and guiding residents through ethical, sustainable work in global health.  Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family physician wife and our three young boys.

Estela Hernandez, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Recruitment Co-Chair
Clinical Focus Area: Emergency Medicine

I attended UC Davis School of Medicine, did a sub-I in medicine here (at what was then Merrithew Hospital), fell in love with this place and the patients and continue to feel at home. I completed my residency in 2001 here and joined the Emergency Department full time while still doing my clinic and monthly shifts in Labor and Delivery. After much deliberation, I now only work in the ED where I continue to enjoy working for and with our underserved patients. I love the hands-on learning, speaking Spanish with my patients and teaching residents. My other passion is working with the residency program to recruit and retain a more diverse resident cohort. I love spending time with family and friends, especially my two young kids, Cristian and Camila. I also enjoy dancing, cooking, and running with my German Shepard, Lulu.

Neil Jayasekera, MD (he/him)

Residency Faculty: Global Health Fellowship Co-Chair and Advisor
Clinical Focus Area: Emergency Medicine, Point of Care Ultrasound

Upon graduating from residency at Contra Costa in 1997, I practiced full spectrum Family Medicine including OB.  I currently work full time in our emergency department. My leadership positions, scholarly work and conference presentations mainly focus on point of care ultrasound (POCUS) and global health. In 2010, I founded the Contra Costa/UCSF Global Health Fellowship and Contra Costa Point of Care Ultrasound Program. I have been a lead faculty advisor for our global health track since its inception in 2009. I am a co-author of book chapters and manuscripts pertaining to global health and POCUS development in post graduate medical education.  I am the principal author and editor of the AAFP Point of Care Ultrasound curriculum guidelines (2016) and co-author of the STFM Family Medicine Global Health Fellowship competency guidelines (2017). I have been the lead presenter for multiple POCUS workshops at AAFP, CAFP, STFM, and FM residencies nationally and abroad, teaching over 1000 FM educators and residents this valuable clinical skill. Other activities at Contra Costa include being a member of the residency leadership group (RLG), code blue/critical care committee, ethics committee, physician union and director of the hospital sepsis program, 2008-2023. I have worked as a disaster medical provider for FEMA and other medical relief groups, responding to fires, hurricanes, an earthquake, and a tsunami. Other medical experience includes being the expedition doctor for the Juneau Icefield Research Program, a ship’s physician for the California Maritime Academy, a locums physician for Indian Health Service and a clinician/educator in India, Kenya, South Sudan, Haiti, Sri Lanka and Malawi. I love teaching our residents, medical students, and global health trackers/fellows principles of emergency medicine, global health, procedures and POCUS. To date, at Contra Costa, I have taught over 400 residents and medical students and 40 global health fellows. I am grateful for being a small part of our learners’ journeys as I am inspired by the quote “teach one, help many.” I relax and find solace in any activity that gets me into nature, especially with my family.

Scott Karpowicz, MD (he/him)

Educational Site Lead - Martinez

Clinical Focus Area: Family Medicine Clinic

After growing up in the Richmond district of San Francisco, I headed east for college at Brown and medical school at Georgetown. Itching to get back to the Golden State, I trained at the Sutter Santa Rosa residency program and joined CCRMC in 2015, based at the Martinez Health Center. I love the environment of teaching, learning and idealism here—it constantly inspires me to continue to evolve into a better physician and healer. I am passionate about primary care, the importance of the therapeutic relationship, and the transformative power of family medicine for our health care system and society. When not in clinic, I enjoy cooking from the garden for friends and family, mindfulness meditation and exploring the world. 

Franca Niameh, PsyD, MS (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Behavioral Medicine

Clinical Focus Area: Behavioral Health, Wellness, Ambulatory

Licensed with the California Board of psychology, I have a wide spectrum of responsibilities in education, administration, consultation, and supervision. I have served as a faculty member for Wright Institute Integrated Heath Psychology training program, training and supervising psychology graduate students in behavioral medicine as well as supporting both students and staff to proactively pursue and commit to issues of diversity and inclusion. I have served as an adjunct faculty for John Kenedy University in Pleasant Hill California, and a clinical psychologist in private practice. Driven by my commitment to train educators, physicians and leaders to value fairness, inclusion, the recovery model, and health equity, I joined the Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency Program. I enjoy bio-psychosocial-spiritual diverse work, helping residents, my patients, and others to find meaning, purpose, and joy.

Brooke Parker, MPH (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Co-Lead of Community Medicine and Population Health
Clinical Focus Area: Transgender and nonbinary health

Health education has been at the heart of my career, both in high school when I founded the first-ever support group in California for siblings of eating disorder sufferers, and when I created my own job here at the county to support LGBTQ+ populations. I’ve lived and worked in Contra Costa County all my life, similar to my mother who used to be a social worker. I was pre-med early in my education, scribing for family medicine providers and volunteering as a doula at CCRMC, but I ultimately decided I could impact more people on a larger scale through public health. Outside of resident teaching, I am the case manager for our Gender Clinic, which is a specialty outpatient clinic for trans and nonbinary patients. I also research best practices for provider wellness, develop partnerships with community organizations, and implement patient-driven policies. In my free time, I choose to be with family and pets, stay fit through strength training, and attend improv acting shows.

Brent Porteus, DO (he/him)

Family Medicine

Clinical Focus Area: Hospital Medicine; Intensive Care

I graduated from Western University of Health Sciences Osteopathic Medical School in 2012. I was drawn to the full-spectrum training allure of Contra Costa and completed Family Medicine residency here in 2015. Since then, I have worked as a hospitalist physician, practicing hospital-based medicine and teaching residents/med students. In 2022, I became the ICU course supervisor, and I enjoy splitting my time between teaching in the ICU and the general medical floors. Teaching medicine is one of my lifelong passions, and I cherish the idea of maximizing my impact by training the next wave of physicians. My medical interests include inpatient medicine, cardiology, critical care, bedside procedures, and point-of-care ultrasound. I am also quite passionate about treating obesity and am a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. If you join us here at CCRMC, you will hear my teaching pearls on treating obesity, and we will build that into our care plans for patients, no matter whether we are working in the ICU or the med/surg floors. When I am not at work, I can be found chasing around my 3 children, enjoying nature with my wife (Ashley), or attacking the mountain bike trails in the East Bay.

Shakir Saud, MD, MS (he/him)

Residency Faculty: Hospital Medicine Course Supervisor, Advisor, Preceptor
Clinical Focus Area: Inpatient Medicine

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I obtained my undergraduate and master’s degree at The City College of NY, while working as a Paramedic. I went on to complete a Cancer Prevention Fellowship at the National Institute of Health prior to obtaining my Medical Degree at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. I went on to complete my Residency at the Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency in 2021 followed by a Chief Year.
     Currently, I am a full time Hospitalist at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and part time provider within the detention health system. My commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and social justice within health care is rooted in personal lived experience. During residency, I co-chaired the Resident Diversity Council (RDC) and am a current member of CCRMC's Unity of Black Health Professionals in Excellence, Advocacy and Mentorship (UBEAM) organization, on several DEI steering committees and a member of the Residency Leadership Group (RLG). My professional interests include Healthy Equity, POCUS and procedural care, graduate medical education, and evidence-based medicine.

Trisha Schimek, MD, MSPH, DipABLM (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Educational Site Lead Pittsburg Health Center
Clinical Focus Area: Family Medicine Clinic, Global Health, Transgender medicine, Maternal and Child Health, Lifestyle Medicine

I pursued a career in medicine to provide high quality care to historically underserved populations. I love working at CCRMC with colleagues and residents with a similar mission.  It's an honor to work in a residency that creates compassionate, well-rounded physicians that are equipped to care for a diverse population. I was born and raised in Minnesota and hold onto the Midwest values of caring for our neighbors and community. My educational path has brought me to many amazing locations!  I went to Tulane in New Orleans for college and my MPH in Tropical Medicine, then to Philadelphia to attend Jefferson Medical College, and finally to University of Wisconsin, Madison, to complete my Family Medicine Residency. I pursued my passion of global health and did the UCSF HEAL Global Health Fellowship where I worked in rural Chiapas, Mexico with Compañeros en Salud and later in Indian Health Service in Shiprock, NM. My interests outside of medicine include spending time and traveling with my husband and 2 young kids, reading, salsa dancing, searching and creating new recipes, and anything that will take me outdoors: hiking, biking, camping, and running.

Ari Simon, DO, MSc

Residency Faculty: Associate Director of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) trainingr
Clinical Focus Area: Emergency Medicine, POCUS

I was born and raised here in the San Francisco Bay Area and am very happy to call CCRMC my home! I went to UC Santa Barbara for undergraduate studies and completed a Master’s and earned my medical degree at Touro University just up Highway 80 in Vallejo. I was drawn to CCRMC for its full-spectrum curriculum, and since graduating in 2021 I have been working full time in the Emergency Department at CCRMC. I also practice in the Emergency Department in a small, rural critical access hospital in Plumas County. I am very passionate about Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Rural Medicine and POCUS. I help teach our wonderful residents here in the ED and focus heavily on procedural care and POCUS in the acute care setting. Outside of the hospital my fiancé and I spend as much time outside as we can, surfing, mountain biking, climbing and running all over this beautiful state.

Angela M. Tran, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: OB Rotation supervisor
Clinical Focus Area: OB/Gyn, Resident Education 

I went to Virginia Commonwealth University for college and medical school. I completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Mount Sinai West in 2018 in New York City before moving to California and joining the OB/GYN Department at CCRMC. I love being a general OB/GYN while working with and teaching residents.

Ashley Tyrrel, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: Pediatric rotation supervisor
Clinical Focus Area: Pediatrics

I was raised in Redwood City, CA by a pair of loving hippies. In college, I volunteered with various programs working with high-risk children and at community clinics before graduating from UC Davis with a degree in cell and molecular biology and cultural anthropology. I then worked as a counselor in a group home with young boys who suffered from severe psychological and mental conditions resulting in them being too dangerous to live at home with their families. I also worked abroad, providing healthcare with an emphasis on childhood illness treatment and prevention in a wide range of rural and underserved communities around the world. In 2008, I attended Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and after graduation, came back to California and completed my pediatric residency at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, Oakland. I have worked at CCRMC at a pediatric hospitalist since my graduation. At home, I have a wonderful husband Jonathan and two awesome kids, David and Lauren. I like to read, be active, travel, and play sports.

Sergio Urcuyo, MD (he/him)

Residency Faculty: Chief Medical Officer
Clinical Focus Area: Inpatient Medicine, ICU

The path leading me here was a bit circuitous. I studied business economics and accounting before working as a business and technology consultant. Then a case of appendicitis and a sense that I was meant for something more meaningful pulled me into medicine. I spent much of medical school intending on becoming a surgeon of some sort, but ultimately, I was drawn to the broad scope and close interpersonal connections that Family Medicine fosters. And then I found CCRMC, which is where I found so many others who feel like I do: that everyone deserves excellent healthcare. Here, I learned how to take care of patients in many different arenas, and I learned that some training and a can-do attitude gets you a long way in this field. I stayed on after residency to teach on the inpatient services where I enjoy working with residents and honing my hospital and critical care skills. In my spare time I enjoy running, skiing, music, and spending time with my friends and family.

Lauren Wondolowski, MD (she/her)

Residency Faculty: OB Clerkship Lead, Resident Advisor
Clinical Focus Area: Family Medicine Clinic, Women's Health, L&D

As a Contra Costa County native, it is a privilege to work in the county where I was raised. I spent several years away for college (New Hampshire) and medical school (Ohio), and when I decided to pursue family medicine training Contra Costa was a natural fit. Not only did I find excellent, unopposed, full-spectrum clinical training, but I also joined a group a dedicated and compassionate people focused on providing care to under-resourced communities. When I graduated in 2015, I was thrilled to join the medical staff and faculty. Currently, about half of my time is spent in family medicine clinic with my continuity panel in Pittsburg and half in the Ob/Gyn department working in inpatient and outpatient settings. I work with our inspiring residents across all areas of my work, and this remains the most rewarding part of my job. Outside of work, I spend time with my husband and our baby boy, black lab, and extended families.