Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 5; Democratic Party

Richard Pan is a physician and an educator at the UC Davis Children's Hospital, with a strong commitment to community service. As Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Pan headed UC Davis's Pediatric Residency Program, where he developed a national award-winning program to promote healthy lifestyles by partnering with community groups.

Dr. Pan has dedicated his career not only to the health and wellbeing of his child patients, but also to teaching young doctors about the importance of extending the medical profession outside of the doctor's office and into communities and neighborhoods.

As a practicing physician, Dr. Pan has seen first hand the devastation of the recent budget cuts, especially on our most vulnerable citizens, children, people with disabilities and seniors. He believes that a healthy community needs a strong local economy, good schools, and access to quality health care.

Dr. Pan helped found Communities and Physicians Together, a grassroots program placing pediatricians in disadvantaged communities; co-founded the Sacramento Health Improvement Project, which brings together doctors, hospitals, clinics, and community leaders to ensure that all Sacramento County residents are able to access primary health care; and co-founded the Healthy Kids Healthy Future program, which secured health, dental and vision coverage for over 65,000 children in Sacramento, Colusa, El Dorado, Placer and Yuba counties.

In 2008, Dr. Pan's pioneering leadership in making community involvement a part of UC Davis' medical school curriculum earned him the accolades of over 1000 college and university presidents when he received the Campus Compact Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning for his exemplary work on Communities and Physicians Together.

Expanding beyond his work to put doctors in touch with communities, Dr. Pan also dedicates his private time to a number of local boards, organizations, and causes aimed at strengthening the community. He is a board member of the United Way California Capitol Region, a board member of BloodSource, a regional blood bank, and served for six years as a Commissioner on the Sacramento First 5 Commission.

Dr. Pan grew up on the East Coast and is the son of immigrants. A product of public schools, Dr. Pan earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University, his Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, and his Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University.

Richard Pan resides in Natomas with his wife, Dr. Wang, a local dentist, and their four-year old son.