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Novatan named White House Fellow

San Marin grad J. Nadine Gracia earns fellowship

August 13, 2008 2:02 PM PDT

A 1991 graduate of San Marin High School has been named a White House Fellow, considered by many as one of the most prestigious leadership and public service programs in the country.

J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, who grew up in Novato attending Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Sinaloa Middle School and San Marin High School, received the good news in June, five months after she had applied for the fellowship.

"On June 26," Gracia said. "The office (of the White House Fellow Commission) actually calls to inform the fellows."

Gracia and other candidates from throughout the country had to submit applications to the program by Feb. 1, 2008. She was notified in March that she was selected as a regional candidate, one of 97. That month she spent a day-and-a-half being interviewed in Chicago for the regional selection. In April she was notified she was selected to be a national finalist, one of 32. In June she went to Annapolis, Md., where she was interviewed over a period of three days. Upon hearing the official news on June 26, her first call was to her mother, Clemene Gracia, in Novato.

"I said, ‘Mom, we did it!' I had to text message my father (at his work) — they had so many people praying for me and sending me words of encouragement," Gracia said. "My mother said, ‘Our prayers have been answered!' She was so happy. I was sitting there, rather shocked."

After looking at Gracia's bio, it not shocking at all that she would be selected a White House Fellow. The former track star and senior class valedictorian at San Marin High School went on to Stanford University. Fluent in French and Haitian Creole, she earned a B.A. with honors in French.

Her bio goes on to read: Gracia is a pediatrician and violence prevention researcher. She was a general pediatrics research fellow at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and received a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research addresses community-level risk factors for violence and the evaluation of neighborhood interventions to reduce violence. She is an associate of the Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center. She earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She then completed pediatrics residency and served as Chief Pediatrics Resident at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. An advocate for minority and disadvantaged populations, she lectures nationwide on health disparities, diversity in education, and cultural competence. She is a National President Emeritus of the Student National Medical Association and a past Postgraduate Physician Trustee of the National Medical Association. She is a motivational speaker and career coach for thousands of students and physicians. She also conducts workshops throughout the country on leadership development, diplomacy, and strategic planning. She serves the community on issues of political awareness, health, and educational achievement through Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Selection as a White House Fellow is based on a combination of the following criteria:

• A record of remarkable professional achievement early in one's career.

• Evidence of leadership skills and the potential for further growth.

• A demonstrated commitment to public service.

•The knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the federal government.

White House Fellows may work as paid special assistants to senior White House Staff, the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. Fellows also participate in an education program of discussions with leaders from the private and public sectors. Some fellows may be sent overseas to study U.S. policy in action both domestically and internationally. Gracia and the other 13 Fellows selected this year will meet with President George Bush in October.

Gracia attributes much of her success to her parents, John F. and Clemene Gracia, who emigrated from Haiti to San Rafael, and have lived in Novato for 30 years.

"All the sacrifices they made, coming from Haiti. All the time people ask me how I am able to do all this. I just say they are my example," Gracia said. "From Haiti to San Rafael and then to Novato. My mother was a math teacher in Haiti and my father was a school principal before they came to the U.S."

As a White House Fellow, Gracia joins a prestigious group of business and government leaders, including past fellows Sen. Samuel D. Brownback, Kansas; Myron E. Ullman, Former CEO, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy; Gen. Wesley K. Clark U.S. Army (ret.), Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; Hon. Margaret M. McKeown, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit; and Colin L. Powell, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, General, U.S. Army (ret.) among others.

Gracia says her fellowship will place her in the Department of Health and Human Services, where she will work with Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and his staff. She says the fellowship program puts her to work right away.

"We don't get much vacation time; they've already forewarned us," she said. "I'm hoping to get back to my parents' for Christmas."