Pamela Riley, M.D., M.P.H. joined the Fund in July 2011 as program officer of the Vulnerable Populations program. Dr. Riley is a pediatrician with a longstanding commitment to improving the health of low-income, medically underserved populations. The Fund's new Program on Vulnerable Populations, part of its efforts in the field of delivery system improvement and innovation, is designed to assure that low-income, uninsured, and minority populations receive care from high-performing health systems . The program consists of two components: 1) High Performing Health Systems Serving Vulnerable Populations, and 2) the newly renamed Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Program. The fellowship program, established in 1996 and based at Harvard Medical School, seeks to develop physician leaders who will address the health needs of vulnerable populations. The other program component, High Performing Health Systems Serving Vulnerable Populations, was created in April 2011 builds upon the Fund’s past and current work in community health systems and state health care policy. The program recognizes that states and localities are responsible for the health and well-being of their residents, and that most resources for vulnerable populations are channeled through, originate from, or are expended within states.

Dr. Riley previously served as clinical instructor in the division of general pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. In this capacity, she was a general pediatrician and associate medical director for pediatrics at the Ravenswood Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center in East Palo Alto, Calif. In addition to her patient care, resident teaching, and administrative responsibilities, she participated in various local task forces addressing asthma, obesity, and school health issues.

Dr. Riley has an interest in the health issues of vulnerable populations both in the U.S. and abroad. She served as a Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy Global Health Policy Fellow at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a volunteer physician in Peru and Guatemala. In 2010, Dr. Riley became a program officer at the New York State Health Foundation, where she focused on developing and managing grantmaking programs in the areas of integrating mental health and substance use services, and the Initiative for Returning Veterans and their Families, the Diabetes Campaign’s faith-based initiative.

Dr. Riley received an M.D. from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in 2000 and completed the internship and residency in pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif. in 2003. Dr. Riley received an M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund/Harvard Minority Health Policy Fellow in 2009.