Residency Faculty

Gary Zane, DO (he/him)

Program Director

Dr. Zane has been dedicated to the development of the program, faculty, and residents as a founding member of the residency.  Passionate about teaching and modeling patient care, he precepts residents both on our inpatient Family Medicine Teaching Service, and outpatient at Santa Cruz Community Health, our residency’s FMP, where he also co-leads our Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Clinic.

Ashley Rubin, DO, MS (she/her)

Associate Program Director, Director of Osteopathic Education, Family Medicine OB Physician (FMOB)

Dr. Rubin is passionate about full spectrum Family Medicine. She is a leader on Labor and Delivery delivering newborns via vaginal and cesarean section, on inpatient medicine in multiple hospitals, and in the outpatient clinic with her own patient panel and precepting specialty and continuity clinic for residents at Santa Cruz Community Health Center, the local Federally Qualified Health Center.

Salla Hennessy, MD (she/her)

Associate Program Director, Academic Medical Director, Family Medicine Physician

Dr. Hennessy (she/her) is our founding Academic Medical Director at Santa Cruz Community Health, the Federally Qualified Health Center that houses the residency continuity clinic (Family Medicine Practice) at the Live Oak Health Center. Dr. Hennessy is passionate about reproductive justice and fundamentally believes in the importance of equitable access to healthcare for all, and is our RHEDI Director. 

Greg Whitley, MD (he/him)

Dominican Hospital CMO, Director of Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine, and Leadership

Dr. Whitley is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Dominican Hospital and is a practicing teaching emergency physician in Dominican’s Emergency Department (ED). Prior to becoming CMO, he was the Medical Director of the ED for 10 years and served as the Chief of Medical Staff for 2 years. During his time in leadership, Dr. Whitley has focused on improving patient safety, quality, efficiency and patient experience through collaboration, mindful leadership and continuous process improvement.

Leah Suárez-Abraham, MD (she/her)

Core Faculty, Curriculum Chair, South County Director, Family Medicine Physician (FMOB)

Dr. Suárez-Abraham is the Director of the Family Centered Pediatrics & OB/Gyn longitudinal curriculum, an innovative, integrated inpatient and outpatient experience at Salud Para La Gente and Watsonville Community Hospital. In addition, she is the Chair of our Curriculum Committee. Dr. Suárez-Abraham attended Mayo Medical School, trained at Ventura Family Medicine Residency and completed a fellowship in Maternal Child Health.

Sir Norman Melancon, MD (he/him/his)

Core Faculty, Director of Behavioral Health, Director of Resident Wellness, Psychiatrist

Dr. Melancon serves as the Director of Behavioral Health for the FMRP. He develops the psychiatry and psychotherapy longitudinal curriculum, electives, and is a co-director for the Community Medicine and Behavioral Health required rotation. 

Dr. Melancon earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth where he played varsity football and served as a Class Marshal, and he attended Vanderbilt for medical school where he was class president.

Cristina Gamboa, MD (she/her)

Core Faculty, Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), Obstetrics and Gynecology 

Dr. Cristina Gamboa is an OB GYN physician and Director of Ambulatory Women’s Health Services at Salud Para La Gente, a federally qualified health center in the Central Coast of California. She is core faculty at the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) Dominican Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in Santa Cruz, California. Dr. Gamboa earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. 

Dawn Motyka, MD (she/her)

Director of Integrative and Functional Medicine, Director of Faculty Wellness, Family Medicine Physician

Dr. Motyka directs our Integrative and Functional Medicine curriculum and has had an illustrious career after graduating from UC Davis School of Medicine and San Bernardino County Medical Center Family Medicine Residency. She is dedicated to community service, teaching and modeling Direct Patient Care providing full spectrum family medicine including integrative functional medicine.

Inemesit Newsome, MD (she/her)

Core Inpatient Faculty, Co-Director of Inpatient Adult Medicine

Dr. Newsome trained at Ross University School of Medicine and East Tennessee State University-Quillen College of Medicine for her Internal Medicine Residency. She is the Medical Director for the Hospitalist program for Santa Cruz Medical Group in Dominican Hospital and will co-direct the inpatient teaching services. In addition, Dr. Newsome is on the Board of Directors for Santa Cruz Medical Group and on the Board of Directors for the Santa Cruz Monterey Medical Association.

Aron Mohan, MD (he/him)

Core Inpatient Faculty, Co-Director of Inpatient Adult Medicine 

Dr. Mohan trained at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania Internal Medicine Residency. At the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, he is the Chair of the Division of Hospitalist Medicine in Santa Cruz. For the Family Medicine Program at Dominican Hospital, he acts as the Director for the PAMF Hospitalist Service, co-directing the inpatient teaching services as well as engaging in quality improvement. In his free time, he likes to wrestle with his toddler, cook for his wife, hike with his dog and surf every chance he gets. He practices mindfulness meditation, a habit he picked up in medical school.

Casey KirkHart, DO (he/him)

Co-Chair Community Advisory Council

Dr. KirkHart trained at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM) and Harbor-UCLA Family Medicine Residency, which launched his medical career in healthcare advocacy and community medicine dedicated to underserved communities. He was previously Medical Director at Saban Community Clinic in Los Angeles and Chief Medical Officer at Santa Cruz Community Health, an FQHC in Santa Cruz County directing a team of over 50 medical providers, nurses and quality improvement staff.

Oriana Nolan, MPH (she/her/ella)

Director of Community Medicine, Co-Chair Community Advisory Council

Oriana grew up in Santa Cruz and is happy to serve her home community as the Director of Community Medicine for the Family Medicine Residency. She was previously on faculty at the UCSF Natividad Family Medicine Residency in Salinas, CA, where she directed the Community Medicine Rotation and co-created Leadership and DEI curriculum. Oriana is trained as a public health practitioner, working for two decades on culturally driven, community-led responses to health issues including HIV, Hepatitis C, harm reduction, and access to care.

Isaac Chankai, MD (he/him)

Director of Surgery, Leadership, and Health Systems Management

Dr. Chankai is a General Surgeon and Santa Cruz native. After attending UC Santa Cruz, he went to Drexel University College of Medicine and trained in General Surgery Residency at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver. He was fortunate enough to return to Santa Cruz and practiced with both the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and the Surgical Associates of Monterey Bay.

Nicholas Abidi, MD (he/him)

Director of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

Dr. Abidi is an orthopedic surgeon and has been academic faculty at several hospitals, published in orthopedics and is an enthusiastic teacher who coordinates the orthopedics and sports medicine curriculum.

Robert Potts, MD (he/him)

Director of Geriatrics, Family Medicine Physician

A Family Medicine Physician for over 25 years, Dr. Potts has done everything from private solo practice, to FQHC clinic, to full time hospitalist. He is currently the SNF physician for his group and Medical Director at one of the local Skilled Nursing Facilities. Outside of medicine, he grows bonsai trees and makes ceramic pots for them at a local pottery studio. He also enjoys camping and hiking, as well as spending time with his 3 children and 2 dogs.

Eric Sanford, MD (he/him)

Co-Director of Community Medicine Curriculum, Family Medicine Physician

With 20 years experience teaching community medicine, Dr. Sanford loves teaching. He finds inspiring the development of residents from new arrivals to contributing members of our community brings meaning. Dr. Sanford enjoys surfing, skiing, biking, and hiking with family and friends in the redwood forests of Santa Cruz.

Lisa Segnitz, MD (she/her)

Director of Palliative Care and Hospice, Family Medicine Physician

Dr. Segnitz is the Director for the Palliative Care and Hospice curriculum. She trained in Family Medicine at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, and after several years in primary and urgent care became board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She leads Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s outpatient Palliative Care and Support Services team in Santa Cruz, rotates on the Dominican Hospital inpatient Palliative team and works at Hospice of Santa Cruz County. She loves spending time with her family, being outdoors and playing or dancing to music with friends.

Rebecca Small, MD, FAAFP (she/her)

Director of Medical Aesthetics Training, Family Medicine Physician

Dr. Small is a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco (https://profiles.ucsf.edu/rebecca.small). She has been teaching family medicine residents and medical students for over 15 years and is a recipient of the Award of Recognition for Contribution and Dedication to the UCSF Family and Community Medicine Clerkship. She attended Cambridge University in England, Harvard Medical School, and Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency.

Michael Amster, MD (he/him)

Director of Pain Management, Family Medicine Physician

Michael Amster, MD, is director for pain management curriculum, being double boarded in pain management and family medicine, and founder of the pain management program at Santa Cruz Community Health, as part of the residency continuity clinic. Michael attended UC Irvine School of Medicine, family medicine residency at UC Davis, and anesthesia pain management fellowship at the University of Iowa. 

Morgan Magid, MD (he/him)

Director of Dermatology

Dr. Magid trained at Vanderbilt University and Northwestern Dermatology Residency. He has been a UCSF Clinical Instructor in Dermatology for three decades and the Medical Director for the Dominican Gang Tattoo Removal Program.

Cindy Au, MPH (she/her)

Graduate Medical Education Manager 

Cindy earned her BA in Psychology and Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also contributed to critical care and trauma research at Harborview Medical Center in the Department of Anesthesiology. Her work there included supporting multi-site longitudinal pediatrics outcomes research and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. Cindy’s background spans public health, clinical research, and technology, including research operations for AR/VR and wearable technology at Meta Reality Labs. She now leads accreditation, compliance, and collaborates on strategic planning for the department, ensuring smooth workflows and supporting the residency’s mission.

Cindy is passionate about building equitable systems that reflect the program’s values, promoting scholarly activity, and fostering a healthy, collaborative learning environment. Outside of work, she enjoys thrifting, watching Formula 1, and exploring spots for a good cup of matcha. 

Layla Franks (she/her)

Undergraduate Medical Education Program Administrator

With an educational background in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, Layla Franks has built a successful career in medical research and leadership. As Executive Director of the Society for Fetal Urology, she focused on managing the day-to-day operations of a medical organization of fetal urologists with 360 national and international members.