Dr. Jennifer Pena and her husband Dr. Brenton R. Franklin spend effort and time rescuing canines of their house of San Juan, Puerto Rico. As with any trigger that one can be enthusiastic about, there are some days which can be more durable than others. In the tip, understanding they will save an animal and both discover it a brand new house or add a brand new member to their very own household makes the trouble worthwhile.
“We’re big rescuers,” she shared. “We have a large stray population, and my Grandmama taught me to feed and take care of the strays,”
She met Brenton within the navy, and their widespread bond of service in each navy and drugs has saved them collectively since.
“He actually just got out of the military in July of this year. He’s a general surgeon, and he’s the smart one. We served together in the Medical Corps. The military will always be a part of who we are individually and as a couple.”
Pena lives with Brenton in San Juan now, however Puerto Rico can also be the place her origin story started. She, alongside together with her sister, was raised by her mom and maternal grandparents. She knew her father, however her mother and father weren’t collectively. So, she spent extra time together with her mom, who was additionally working full-time as a nurse.
“My grandparents were instrumental in our upbringing,” she mentioned. “I was a very active little girl, very much a tom boy,” she recalled. “I was very much into sports and always playing outside, getting dirty. Definitely not the girly type.”
Pena was additionally into martial arts, and he or she finally earned a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. That ardour for exercise served as a pillar in her childhood, however as with every part else in her life, she dedicated much more, finally turning into a member of the Puerto Rico nationwide staff. As a finweight competitor, she earned a number of native, state, and nationwide awards.
Pena shared about her time competing, “You know the best part of that? It was fun, it was never something I planned for, but developed a talent for it.”
She excelled in schoolwork as properly. Pena mentioned that when she was in highschool, she and her mom would examine collectively as a result of she had gone to varsity to get her Masters diploma in Healthcare Administration. Her mom would turn out to be a healthcare administrator following that point. As for Pena, she went on to Yale University and graduated in 2004 with levels in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and Spanish Language and Literature. She would finally observe within the footsteps of her father, uncles, and several other members of her household by becoming a member of the navy, particularly the United States Army. Her father was an officer and a pharmacist, which is yet one more medical discipline connection for her. Military service fulfilled two wants for Pena. Besides her service to the nation, it served as a catapult for one more dream that connects her to her mom.
“It helped me with medical school,” she mentioned, however it’s not just like the idea of service was overseas to her.
“I grew up around the military, I grew up going to the Commissary and being around the military community,” she defined. “It was an easy decision to make.”
Pena entered energetic responsibility in 2008 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That dedication to service and medical college would permit her to not solely help these she served with, however it led her to breaking down boundaries. After working in Fort Belvoir’s new hospital, she can be nominated and accepted to function a doctor within the White House Medical Unit beneath each Presidents Obama and Trump. Unbeknownst to her at the moment, she was breaking boundaries for Latina women all over the place. Pena was the primary Latina to serve the White House as a doctor. It wasn’t ever a objective she pursued, nor was it spoken about in an enormous approach. She was knowledgeable of this by a colleague throughout a random dialog.
“It was one of those right place, right time things,” she mentioned humbly. “It was one of my physician assistants, who was also Puerto Rican, who pointed it out. There is a plaque with names on it, and he pointed out that there were no other Latinas on that plaque.”
After over a decade of whole service, Pena left energetic responsibility in 2019. Besides her work in rescuing, she additionally at present works as Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer for Measured, a Y-Combinator well being startup firm offering weight administration options and dietary providers. Beyond that, she additionally works with Oya Care (the primary ladies’s digital well being clinic in Brazil) as a Medical Advisor to the Board. She can also be concerned with Julie Products, Inc., a supplier of over-the-counter emergency contraception choices for girls within the United States. She has additionally made quite a few TV appearances as a medical knowledgeable and spoke at quite a few occasions for digital well being, telehealth, Veteran issues, and even in efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along the best way, she acquired quite a few honors, together with named considered one of Business Insider’s “30 Leaders Under 40 Changing Healthcare in 2021.” That similar yr, Pena was named Veteran of the Year by Latina Style Magazine, a tribute to her service and distinction. In the eyes of many, she is each a hero and trailblazer. She hopes her instance of health, service, and dedication to others generally is a mild for younger those who wish to make the same influence on their communities, nation, and even the world.
“You have to see one to be one. I think that’s important to me because you’re sheltered a bit in Puerto Rico, and you don’t see that representation at those levels. If you don’t see people that look like you, you can’t see yourself in those positions. For me, it was Antonia Novello, who was Surgeon General. So, to the young girl reading this, now you see it. You can be it.”
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