Dr. Jennifer Pena and her husband Dr. Brenton R. Franklin spend effort and time rescuing canines of their residence of San Juan, Puerto Rico. As with all trigger that one can be obsessed with, there are some days which are more durable than others. In the long run, understanding they’ll save an animal and both discover it a brand new residence or add a brand new member to their very own household makes the hassle worthwhile.
“We’re massive rescuers,” she shared. “We now have a big stray inhabitants, and my Grandmama taught me to feed and maintain the strays,”
She met Brenton within the navy, and their widespread bond of service in each navy and drugs has stored them collectively since.
“He really simply acquired out of the navy in July of this yr. He’s a basic surgeon, and he’s the sensible one. We served collectively within the Medical Corps. The navy will all the time be part of who we’re individually and as a pair.”
Pena lives with Brenton in San Juan now, however Puerto Rico can 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 had been instrumental in our upbringing,” she mentioned. “I used to be a really lively little woman, very a lot a tom boy,” she recalled. “I used to be very a lot into sports activities and all the time enjoying outdoors, getting soiled. Undoubtedly not the girly kind.”
Pena was additionally into martial arts, and he or she finally earned a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. That keenness for exercise served as a pillar in her childhood, however as with all the pieces else in her life, she dedicated much more, finally changing 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 realize the perfect a part of that? It was enjoyable, it was by no means one thing I deliberate for, however developed a expertise for it.”
She excelled in schoolwork as properly. Pena mentioned that when she was in highschool, she and her mom would research 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 College and graduated in 2004 with levels in Molecular, Mobile and Developmental Biology, and Spanish Language and Literature. She would finally comply with within the footsteps of her father, uncles, and several other members of her household by becoming a member of the navy, particularly the USA Military. Her father was an officer and a pharmacist, which is one more medical area connection for her. Navy service fulfilled two wants for Pena. Apart from 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 college,” she mentioned, but it surely’s not just like the idea of service was international to her.
“I grew up across the navy, I grew up going to the Commissary and being across the navy group,” she defined. “It was a simple choice to make.”
Pena entered lively responsibility in 2008 after graduating from the College of Pittsburgh Faculty of Drugs. That dedication to service and medical college would enable her to not solely assist these she served with, but it surely led her to breaking down obstacles. After working in Fort Belvoir’s new hospital, she can be nominated and accepted to function a doctor within the White Home Medical Unit below each Presidents Obama and Trump. Unbeknownst to her at the moment, she was breaking obstacles for Latina women in all places. Pena was the primary Latina to serve the White Home as a doctor. It wasn’t ever a purpose she pursued, nor was it spoken about in a giant approach. She was knowledgeable of this by a colleague throughout a random dialog.
“It was a type of proper place, proper time issues,” she mentioned humbly. “It was one in all my doctor assistants, who was additionally Puerto Rican, who pointed it out. There’s a plaque with names on it, and he identified that there have been no different Latinas on that plaque.”
After over a decade of whole service, Pena left lively responsibility in 2019. Apart from her work in rescuing, she additionally presently works as Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer for Measured, a Y-Combinator well being startup firm offering weight administration options and dietary providers. Past 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 be concerned with Julie Merchandise, Inc., a supplier of over-the-counter emergency contraception choices for girls in the USA. 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.
Alongside the way in which, she acquired quite a few honors, together with named one in all Enterprise Insider’s “30 Leaders Underneath 40 Altering Healthcare in 2021.” That very same yr, Pena was named Veteran of the Yr by Latina Type Journal, a tribute to her service and distinction. Within the eyes of many, she is each a hero and trailblazer. She hopes her instance of health, service, and dedication to others could be a gentle for younger those who need to make an analogous influence on their communities, nation, and even the world.
“It’s a must to see one to be one. I feel that’s vital to me since you’re sheltered a bit in Puerto Rico, and also you don’t see that illustration at these ranges. In case you don’t see those who appear to be you, you possibly can’t see your self in these positions. For me, it was Antonia Novello, who was Surgeon Normal. So, to the younger woman studying this, now you see it. You might be it.”
Comply with Pena @jennifer.m.pena on Instagram
