Gala Celebrates Rich Tapestry of Students

Andrea Garcia, TUC Vice President for University Advancement, said the Gala was a resounding success thanks to “the incredible support and generosity of our community sponsors and our campus community.”

Dr. Tami Hendriksz (DO Class of 2006), TUC Interim Chief Academic Officer as well as Dean and CAO of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, served as co-emcee for the Gala along with Newman Hoffman, Vice President and Interim CEO.

Hendriksz offered her thanks to the campus community for its support of the Gala and gave a preliminary account of the evening’s success.

“I am overjoyed to share that we raised the most money we ever have for this event,” Hendriksz said in a message to the campus. “This achievement is a true testament to the dedication, hard work, and passion of our campus community.”

Equity, Empathy Critical to Quality Health Care

Dr. Alan Kadish, a cardiologist by training and President of the Touro University System, flew in from New York to attend the Gala and to host a President’s Reception for key donors. He spoke of his time as an intern in the early 1980s in Boston and of how he fought for a Black man to receive cardiac surgery, but was rebuffed.

Kadish said this was certainly someone he thought deserved a heart operation, but the surgeons refused to operate. He said all kinds of excuses were given. He suggested the reason may have been socioeconomic, or perhaps there was still some bias in the decision-making process at that time.

He advocated for the man anyway.

Fast forward six years and the cardiology fellow at the time, someone who did not support Kadish in his patient advocacy, wrote a paper that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that Blacks in Massachusetts had cardiac procedures with one-quarter of the frequency of whites.

One of Kadish’s key takeaways from the experience: “We need to do everything possible to make sure that in something as important as health care, that everybody gets treated with dignity, everybody gets treated with respect, and everybody, regardless of their financial situation or race, gets the benefit of the best we can offer.”

He said one way to help achieve that is to ensure medical students at each of Touro University’s six campuses are able to relate to their patients, and to train a diverse group of medical students so as physicians they can effectively treat people of diverse backgrounds across the country.

“We’re very proud of the fact that at some of our medical school campuses, including Touro University California, we have an extraordinary diversity of trainees,” Kadish said. He thanked those in attendance for supporting the Mosaic diversity scholarships “and continuing the lessons that I learned,” while also acknowledging there’s more to accomplish.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure that everyone is treated with respect and that their providers can understand them,” Kadish said.

A Mosaic Scholar’s Personal Story

Student Doctor Andrew “Andre” Ailoje spent time while growing up in numerous countries across several continents. He’s the only member of his family without the sickle cell trait and watched family members as they were treated in various countries throughout their lives.

Those experiences taught him the importance of empathy in the practice of medicine.

Ailoje came to the U.S. as a foreign national with his family and became a “Dreamer” due to his immigration status. His dreams of attending medical school and becoming a physician were put on hold not only by his immigration status, but by the death of his father, a loss that saw him take on a primary role in taking care of his family.

But he weathered those challenges – and announced to applause his current status as a U.S. citizen.

Mosaic Scholarships Help Further Mission to Serve

The Mosaic Scholarship program was created in furtherance of the University’s mission: To Serve. To Lead. To Teach. The scholarship is designed to assist students from underrepresented communities with an eye toward enhancing access to quality medical care in underserved communities, all in keeping with the tenets of the Jewish faith.

“The Mosaic Gala was a testament to the power of community and collaboration,” Hendriksz said. “By bringing together leaders and supporters from across our region, we were able to raise vital funds that will directly support scholarships for our students, empowering them to pursue their dreams and make meaningful contributions to society.”

Hendriksz said the individual Mosaic Scholars over the years represent all that’s good about TUC.

“The success of the Mosaic Gala highlights the incredible generosity and commitment of our community,” Hendriksz said. “The funds raised will provide life-changing opportunities for our students, allowing them to focus on their education and future careers in service to others.”

A high percentage of graduates from the Osteopathic Medicine, Physician Assistant, Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health, and teaching programs go on to serve in underserved communities across the region, state, and nation.

Gala Highlights Shine Spotlight on Partnerships

A highlight of the evening was presentation of the Mosaic Achievement Award to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which contributed $150,000 to the Mosaic Scholarship Fund through the Nation’s Momhi Scholarship Fund.

Momhi means “share” in the Patwin language.

The money is designated to support Vallejo high school and community college students who choose to pursue post-secondary education at TUC in 2025 and 2026, such as through the new and accredited Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program, which offers an Associate of Applied Science degree after five semesters – 22 months.

The first cohort of Sonography students began their program this fall.

This is not the first partnership between Colleges of the Touro University System and tribal communities, but is the most recent.

TUC’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is a founding member along with its sister Touro COM programs in Harlem, New York, Middletown, New York, and Great Falls, Montana, in the American Indian Medical Education Strategies Alliance, which aims to address a physician shortage in tribal communities.

The Alliance’s founding members and objectives were announced Feb. 28.

Another highlight of the evening was presentation of the Kaiser Permanente Health Equity Scholarship in the amount of $10,000 to second-year Joint Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies/Master of Public Health student Danielle Teves Miguel.

Darryl Curry, Kaiser Permanente Senior Vice President and Area Manager for the Napa Solano Service Area, spoke of Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to health equity as he presented the award.

Sponsors Take Mosaic Gala to New Heights

Community partnerships are a key component of the Mosaic Scholarship campaign, now in its eighth year.

Lamplighter Sponsors who contributed $10,000 or more were the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Kaiser Permanente, NorthBay Health, Sutter Health, California Bank and Trust, the Mare Island Co., and Medic Ambulance.

A representative of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation presented Kadish with a ceremonial necklace, which he wore during the reception and throughout the public portion of the Gala.

Gold Sponsors who donated $5,000 were Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center, the Valero Benicia Refinery, and TUC Faculty and Staff.

Silver Sponsors who contributed $2,500 were AT&T, PG&E, Pierce Inc. Electric and Construction, Partnership HealthPlan of California, Recology, the Napa Solano Medical Society, Travis Credit Union, the Fairfield-Suisun Twilight Rotary Charitable Foundation, and Valley Strong Credit Union.

The Solano Transportation Authority, which donated $1,500, was a Bronze Sponsor.