2017 – 2019 Board Members

Dr. Eric Ball, M.D. – President

Eric Ball is a pediatrician and partner at Southern Orange County Pediatric Associates, working in their Ladera Ranch Office. Dr. Ball was born and raised in New Jersey where he developed an appreciation for health care working in his father’s small local pharmacy. He went to college at Duke University and then to medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr Ball trained to become a pediatrician at Stanford University where he served an extra year as a pediatric chief resident. After residency, he and his wife Emily moved to Orange County where she was raised. He now resides in Irvine with Emily, their son Ethan, daughter Julia, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Twinkle. When not at work, Dr. Ball enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and spending time with his family.

Dr. Katherine Williamson, M.D. – Vice President

Dr. Kate Williamson is a pediatrician at Southern Orange Country Pediatric Associates. She grew up in Huntington Beach, completed her bachelor’s degree at Pomona College, and then medical school at UC San Francisco. She has been active in the AAP-OC since she began her residency at CHOC Children’s Hospital as the District IX resident leader, where she chaired the AAP-OC’s national resident campaign in 2010-2011 and partnered with the First Lady’s Let’s Move Initiative to fight childhood obesity. She also spent a month working in the AAP Legislative Office in Washington, D.C. lobbying health-related legislation. She now serves as the Chapter 4 representative to the AAP-CA State Government Affairs. She is also a national media representative for the AAP. With a background in the dramatic arts, she plans to use the media to teach kids and their families about health and nutrition. In her free time Dr. Williamson loves to travel and spend as much time as possible outdoors running, swimming, rock climbing, bike riding, and scuba diving.

Dr. Vinh Lam, M.D. – Treasurer

Vinh Lam, MD attended Harvard Medical School where he received the Harvard Medical School Scholarship. After his graduation, he completed both his internship and his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He then completed a two-year fellowship at the Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago. Dr. Lam specializes in neonatal congenital anomalies reconstruction, minimally invasive/robotic surgeries, chest deformity surgeries, and oncological surgeries. His accomplishments include certificates from the American Board of Surgery-General Surgery and American Board of Surgery-Pediatric Surgery. He is affiliated with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA), International Pediatric Endosurgical Group (IPEG), Children Oncology Group (COG), and Massachusetts General Surgical Society. Since 2006 he has received the Physician of Excellence Award from the OCMA. Dr. Lam has offices across from CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange and also CHOC at Mission. He speaks Chinese and Vietnamese.

Dr. Reshmi Basu, MD – Secretary

Dr. Dean Jacobs, M.D. – Immediate Past President

Dr. Jacobs has been a pediatrician with Children’s Hospital of Orange County since 2008, where he is a member of the Ethics Committee and works with helping the low income under-served children of Orange County. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor at University of California, Irvine. He has been involved with the AAP Orange County Chapter since 2008, he has served as co-chair of the Young Physicians Committee since 2009, and as a member of the Board of Directors since 2011. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania, received his medical degree from University of California, Davis, and did his pediatric residency training at Los Angeles County + University of Southern California.

Dr. Harry Pellman, M.D. – Continuing Medical Education

Dr. Harry Pellman went to medical school at the University of Illinois, interned at LA County-USC Medical Center and Pediatric Residency at the University of Illinois Research Hospital. After two years in the US Army, Dr. Pellman joined Edinger Medical Group. At Edinger Medical Group his duties included patient care, teaching, and both clinical and pharmaceutically-sponsored research. He is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at UCI and has been extensively involved in the AAP-OC, serving in all officer categories in California Chapter 4, AAP, including President. He is the AAP CA Chapter 4 Coordinator to the national AAP in both the PROS Committee and the Breastfeeding Section. He is also a member of both the AAP Infectious Disease Section and Breastfeeding Section. He has been CME Chairman of California Chapter 4, AAP since 1992 and has been a member since 1992 and now Co-Chairs the District 9, AAP CME Committee. His pediatric passions include providing quality up-to-date pediatric education, teaching about middle ear disease, vaccines, and asthma, including writing and extensively speaking on these subjects. Another passion includes trying to bring the pharmaceutical industry, teaching centers, the FDA, and ethicists together to provide quality education to providers to optimize patient care delivery by building bridges between these groups. He is married with five daughters and 5 grandchildren (four of them girls!).

Dr. Jennifer Ho, M.D. – Member at Large

Dr. Julie Palmisano, M.D. – Member at Large

Dr. Sharief Taraman, M.D. – Member at Large

Dr. Sharief Taraman is the Assistant Division Chief of Pediatric Neurology at CHOC Children’s Hospital and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Taraman is one of CHOC’s Physician Informaticists and serves on the Board of Directors for OCPHRIO, Inc. helping to drive health information exchange and improve healthcare in Orange County. As a pediatric neurologist, Dr. Taraman sees children with a variety of neurological conditions, but has had the greatest impact on improving concussion care throughout Orange County. Current research projects include principal investigator of nanoparticles as therapeutic agents, co-investigator of brain computer interfaces, and co-investigator on National Validation of the PedsQL-Epilepsy Module. Locally, he volunteers as a member for the Irvine Unified School District Medical Advisory Board, a parent volunteer in the Capistrano Unified School District, and with the Girl Scouts of Orange County.

Dr. Neda Zadeh, M.D. – Member at Large

Neda Zadeh M.D. is a medical geneticist in the Division of Medical Genetics at CHOC Childrens’ Hospital, and the Associate Director of the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at Genetics Center. She specializes in the diagnosis and management of genetic syndromes and birth defects. Dr. Zadeh joined CHOC formally in 2011 after completing her internship and residency training in pediatrics at CHOC Children’s Hospital as well as fellowships in clinical genetics at Stanford University, and clinical molecular genetics at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Zadeh received her Medical Doctor degree from the UCLA School of Medicine.