Jessica D. Rhodes, MD

University of California, Davis; Jessica grew up in Lafayette, CA, a proud fifth-generation Californian. After studying international development at UC Berkeley, she worked abroad in Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, and India. Through her travels Jessica discovered that she wanted to become a doctor and enrolled in the Rural PRIME program at UC Davis, focused on the medically underserved. In medical school, Jessica pursued her interest in preventive health by teaching yoga and helping start a farmers’ market at UC Davis medical center. She also took a brief detour to earn an MPH at Johns Hopkins University, where she explored the interconnections between food production, human health, and the environment, and the health effects of climate change. Eventually Jessica hopes to work in a rural community clinic in northern California. Her professional interests include women’s and children’s health, family planning, and nutrition. She also intends to be a physician-advocate for better food policy and efforts to combat climate change. Outside of medicine, she loves playing with her children (Jack and Annabelle), practicing yoga, backpacking in the Sierras, growing vegetables, baking, and watching San Francisco Giants baseball.