Board Members 2019-2021

Katherine Williamson, M.D. – President

Dr. Kate Williamson is a pediatrician at Southern Orange Country Pediatric Associates (SOCPA). 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 her pediatric residency at CHOC Children’s Hospital  where she served for 2 years as the Section on Physician Trainees (SOPT) District IX leader. She also spent a month rotation in the AAP Legislative Office in Washington, D.C. advocating for children’s health issues.

Since residency, she has served in leadership roles in AAP-OC Chapter 4:  SGA (State Governmental Affairs) representative, Treasurer, Vice President, and now President. She is also a national media representative for the AAP.

Dr. Williamson has specific interests in school health, mental health, and nutrition. In her free time she loves to travel and spend as much time as possible outdoors running, swimming, rock climbing, bike riding, and scuba diving.

Sharief Taraman, M.D. – Vice President

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 previously served 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.

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.

Reshmi Basu, M.D. – Secretary

Dr. Reshmi Basu is a pediatrician at Pediatric and Adult Medicine in Tustin. She grew up in Mission Viejo, received her bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine, and then attended UC San Diego School of Medicine. She returned to Orange County for her pediatric residency at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Dr. Basu has been involved with AAP-Orange County Chapter as a board member since 2017. She has always had an interest in child advocacy and is now specifically involved in bringing new developmental screening initiatives to Orange County. She also participates in her community as a member of the local elementary school parent teacher organization. Dr. Basu lives in Irvine with her husband, daughter, and son, and loves spending as much time with them as possible.

Eric Ball, M.D. – Immediate Past 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 their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Twinkle and Everly. When not at work, Dr. Ball enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and spending time with his family.

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!).

Phyllis Agran, M.D., M.P.H., M.A. – Member at Large

Dr. Agran is American Board of Pediatrics certified in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology. She is Professor Emeritus, UC Irvine School of Medicine and a practicing physician. She founded the Child Injury Prevention Research Group at UCI, focused on translating research into policy. She is a past president of California Chapter 4, American Academy of Pediatrics. She serves on the National American Academy of Pediatrics, Executive Committee of the Council on Injury and Violence Prevention and the National Nominating Committee. Dr. Agran is the founder of the nonprofit – Clinic in the Park •Connect •Screen •Educate – an innovative one-stop shop model designed to empower communities and families with the knowledge, tools and skills to improve their health. This Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children project targets vulnerable children facing health disparities largely due to poverty. (www.clinicinthepark.org). She has been an advocate for public health policies aimed at reducing trauma and injury to children. She invests in mentoring the next generation of health professionals She received her BA degree from UC Berkeley, a Master’s Degree in Biology from Boston University, an MPH from Harvard University, and her medical degree from UC Irvine.

Connie Bartlett, D.O. – Member at Large

Connie Bartlett, DO, is a practicing pediatrician and vice president of St. Jude and St. Joseph Heritage Medical Group. Dr. Bartlett has received numerous accolades for patient’s satisfaction and clinical excellence since joining the group. She was elected chairperson for the medical group Divisional Executive Committee and the St Joseph Health System Physician Leadership Council. She has been an active participant in her local and Health System strategic planning. Dr. Bartlett had served on the hospital Board of Trustee, philanthropy, finance and planning committees which oversee major capital projects and financial stewardship. She engages in many leadership roles in her local ministry which makes her well versed with subjects such as health-care reform, IT mandates and challenges faced all physicians in terms of regulatory demands and work life balance. Recently, Dr. Bartlett was invited to participate in the steering committee for Providence St Joseph Health Mental Wellness committee. She is leading the efforts in behavior health integration in primary care setting. In addition, she is currently appointed clinical professor at Western University of Health and Sciences, Pomona, CA. Dr. Bartlett received her BS at UCI in 1989, her DO at Western University of Health and Sciences in 1993 and completed her pediatric residency at UCI in 1996. Since graduated, she has joined the medical group practice which has over 300 physicians, multi specialty, covering Orange County and Inland Empire.

Theodore Heyming, M.D. – Member at Large

Dr. Ted Heyming is the Emergency Department Medical Director at CHOC Children’s Hospital.  He was born and raised in Riverside, Ca.  He graduated from UCLA and completed a residency and fellowship at Harbor UCLA in Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  Ted has led his department in opening the first new base station in Orange County in the last 20 years and is the current Base Station Director.  He currently serves on the OCEMS county medical advisory committee and the OC Water Safety Task Force.  His interests include injury and violence prevention as well as trauma.  Dr. Heyming enjoys camping with his children and swimming.

Gregory Kennedy, M.D. – Member at Large

Greg Kennedy is a pediatrician and partner at Southern Orange County Pediatric Associates (SOCPA), working in their Ladera Ranch and San Clemente Offices. Dr. Kennedy grew up in Sacramento, California and attended college at UC Davis, where his interest in medicine began. He moved to Southern California to attend medical school at UC San Diego. Finding it difficult to leave Southern California, Dr. Kennedy trained to become a pediatrician at the UC Irvine/CHOC residency, where he served an extra year as a pediatric chief resident and became more involved in the AAP. Outside of work, Dr. Kennedy enjoys collecting vinyl records, repairing turntables, and playing ukulele at the beach.

Hillary Zieve, M.D. -Member at Large & Young Physician Representative

Dr. Zieve is a pediatrician with CHOC Medical Group in Santa Ana, California.  Dr. Zieve earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, with a minor in Medical Anthropology, from the University of Southern California, and received her Medical Degree from University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.  She completed residency and served as a Chief Resident at the UC Irvine/CHOC pediatric residency program in Orange, California.  She currently sits on the board of the American Academy of Pediatrics-Orange County chapter as a Member at Large and Young Physician Representative.  She continues to work closely with residents and medical students a faculty mentor of Team KiPOW! (Kid Power), a school-based obesity intervention program that Dr. Zieve co-founded during residency.  Dr. Zieve is passionate about primary care, preventative medicine, and more specifically pediatric obesity management, nutrition, and healthy weight loss. She lives in Irvine, CA with her husband, daughter and two dogs.