Biographies
Judith Ned, Ed.D., M.Ed — SMYSP Executive Director
As Executive Director of the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program, Judith Ned is a whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm. When she isn’t counseling SMYSP students, she writes grants, coaches staff members on personal and professional development, advises students on the college admissions process and evaluates data on the long-term success of the program. She takes her work very personally, and she says she is devoted to SMYSP because her heart is into finding resources for our students. In the process, Ned says she has learned important lessons of her own.
“I have learned about the resiliency of young people,” she says. “I didn’t understand it until now. Our kids have so much going on. Many of them are working to support their families … you have students from impoverished families, families who have lost a parent, or they’ve come from foster homes, and their resiliency is astounding.”
Dr. Ned has a long history of meaningful work. After completing her undergraduate degree in 1990 in Animal Sciences at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she enrolled in AmeriCorp for two years. There she got first-hand experience in health education, project and leadership development and conflict mediation.
She used these skills when she came to San Jose, California, in 1997 to work as a Program Manager and Director for Public Allies-Silicon Valley. In this capacity, Dr. Ned led more than 100 young adults through programs on communication skills, leadership and community development. She also developed new programs for the organization including a professional speakers’ bureau and mentorship program.
All of her experience helped her find success when she joined SMYSP in 2001. In addition to her professional successes, Dr. Ned completed her masters in Counselor Education from San Jose State University in San Jose, California in 2001, her Masters in Educational Leadership in May, 2006 and her Doctorate in Education at Mills College in Oakland, California in June 2008.
“You take what you’ve learned and you use it,” she says. It is a message she and the rest of the SMYSP staff continually share with their students. “I am a continuous learner through them,” she says.
Marilyn Winkleby, MPH, Ph.D. — Faculty Advisor
Dr. Marilyn Winkleby, professor of medicine at Stanford University, admits she felt a little out of place on campus when she first arrived in 1987. She had grown up on a two-acre farm in Southern California, and had moved to Sacramento, California, by the time she was in high school.
“The affluence at Stanford was in striking contrast to my past and I sometimes felt alienated and far from my roots,” she says.
Winkleby had just completed her Ph.D. with honors at the University of California, Berkeley the year before, and she yearned for the energy and social activism that she had felt on that campus.
When two Stanford undergraduate students approached her with the idea of starting a program that would offer low-income and ethnic minority high school students academic enrichment, long-term mentoring, and information about health careers in the world-renowned health facilities available at Stanford, she jumped at the opportunity.
The Stanford Medical Youth Science Program was launched in 1987, and she has been a devoted leader ever since. Under her tutelage, the program has shepherded more than 400 students through the Summer Residential Program and 99% of them have been admitted to colleges and universities throughout the United States. In addition, Dr. Winkleby works tirelessly to find funding for the program and to expand the reach of SMYSP.
Dr. Winkleby began her academic career at California State University in Sacramento, California, where she received her undergraduate degree in Social Science. She earned her Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from the same university, and went on to the University of California, Berkeley to get her Masters in Public Health in 1983 and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology in 1986.
Dr. Winkleby’s ongoing research at Stanford reflects her commitment to the health of medically underserved communities. She and her research group focus on cardiovascular disease epidemiology, community-based intervention research, social determinants of health, and the overall health of socioeconomically disadvantaged and ethnic minority populations.
She is dedicated to the promotion of diversity in the health professions. Through her work with SMYSP, she is also committed to helping train talented students become leaders to represent the increasing numbers of Americans who need advocates to address inequities in health and education.
“Our goal is to partner with families, schools, and communities to address the critical shortage of low-income students who enter the sciences and health professions. We have become a national model and we are excited that components of our program are being replicated nationally and internationally,” Dr. Winkleby says.
Full-time Permanent Staff
- Nell Curran, Program Coordinator
- Alana Koehler, Program Assistant
- Dale Lemmerick, Program Assistant
Part-time Support Staff
- David Ahn, Statistician
- Kathy Fagliano, Evaluation Coordinator