Volunteer Leaders and Interns
Noemi (Mimi) Doohan, MD, PhD- Founder of Doctors Without Walls
Dr. Doohan is a Board Certified Family Physician, and practices out of Einsenhower Medical Center. Dr. Doohan received a BA in Biochemistry from Mills College in Oakland, California, a PhD in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry from UC Santa Barbara, and then her MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Doohan completed her specialty training in Family Medicine in the renowned Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2005 Dr. Doohan founded Doctors Without Walls – Santa Barbara Street Medicine, to provide free, volunteer medical care for the most vulnerable of Santa Barbara County, when and where they are in need, including in times of disaster.
Dr. Laura Polito, M.D- Medical Director Street Medicine Teams
Dr. Laura Polito, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Street Medicine Teams for Doctors Without Walls. She has worked with Doctors Without Walls for the last year at the Pershing Park Clinic, leading a team on street rounds, and at the Isla Vista Clinic.
Dr. Polito is Board Certified in Family Medicine and practices at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara. She did her undergraduate work at Santa Clara University, in Santa Clara, CA, and attended Medical School at Creighton University, in Omaha, NE. Dr. Polito completed her Family Medicine Residency at Offutt Air Force Base/University of Nebraska Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Polito spent four years at Vandenberg Air Force Base, serving as Medical Director of the Family Medicine Clinic. Currently, Dr Polito also sits on the Board of the Santa Barbara County Medical Society.
Dr. Polito’s true passion lies in humanitarian medicine, providing needed care to the most vulnerable and underserved population in a community. While in the Air Force, she was fortunate enough to serve on several humanitarian medical missions to Central and South America, providing medical care and health education to vulnerable communities.
Since coming to Santa Barbara, Dr. Polito has continued to pursue medical humanitarian work, flying to Baja, Mexico, with a local Santa Barbara organization to provide care to underserved populations still recovering from Hurricane Jimena.
Stephanie Durfor – Medical Director, Women’s Free Homeless Clinic
Richard Wayne (Ric) Hovspain - Administrative Liaison
Hailing from the suburban Philadelphia area, Ric attended Villanova University where he graduated with a BA in English and Communications. For a span of 20 years, Ric’s professional life was taken up with back to back business’ he owed. A very unique catering company he founded, called “Street Corner Cuisine”, landed him on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine. Sticking with the hospitality world, Ric later became Proprietor/Innkeeper of a 50 acre Bed & Breakfast called “Sweetwater Farm”.
Ric moved west to Santa Barbara in 2008 and found himself assisting the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department with logistical support for the H1N1 mass vaccinations – his first foray in the world of public health and emergency preparedness. While his background was not medical, his skills at management and organization landed him the position as the Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator in June of 2010. A sister organization to the Medical Reserve Corps is Santa Barbara Street Medicine-Doctors Without Walls, where Ric is officially the “Administrative Liaison”, the point man if you will, maintaining the communication and organization between the various program directors the volunteers and the Board of Directors.
Ric resides in Santa Barbara and enjoys his two Jack Russell Terriers, surfing, biking, hiking and the sport of polo.
Jennifer Ferraez-Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Jennifer Ferraez is a founding member of Doctors Without Walls. She is a clinical social worker currently working for the County department of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health assigned to homeless outreach as a “day job”. She also has mental health hours at St. Brigid’s Fellowship, a grassroots homeless drop in center in Isla Vista. She devotes as much time as possible to working with Doctors Without Walls as lead social worker and training others in the skill of street outreach. Working with the homeless is a life passion for her. It is her belief that healing happens within the context of community—and community happens when people begin to speak the same language of compassion.
Jessielee Coley-Program Coordinator 
Jessielee Coley recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in biology. She began volunteering with DWW-SBSM 3 years ago as a volunteer for the Women’s Clinic, and last year she was the student volunteer coordinator and communications intern . Two years ago while participating in the Underserved Medicine course she helped coordinate the Mama Kit project- which sent 40 sterile birthing kits to a clinic in Indonesia. She is a leader of Street Health Outreach, a campus organization dedicated to providing basic care to the homeless communities of Santa Barbara County. Jessielee is currently the Program Coordinator for DWW-SBSM.
Jessielee can be contacted by filling out the form here.
Jamie Janeski-Women’s Free Homeless Clinic Coordinator
Jamie Janeski recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with her B.S. in Biochemistry. She started volunteering with DWW-SBSM at the Women’s Free Homeless Clinic and has now been with the organization for over 2 years. Jamie is currently the Women’s Free Homeless Clinic Coordinator. Occasionally, she volunteers as a scribe at Pershing Park and Alameda Park. She also works as a scribe in the local hospital. When she is not working or volunteering, she is enjoying the various outdoor activities that Santa Barbara has to offer. Soon, she will be pursuing a career in medicine.
Jamie can be contacted by filling out the form here.
Aaron Lewis- Logistics Coordinator
Aaron is a Santa Barbara native who graduated from UCSB in 2004 with a degree in Biological Sciences and Psychology. He came to Doctors Without Walls in early 2010 after receiving his EMT certificate. Volunteering at first with the Women’s Free Homeless Clinic, he quickly realized he had found a perfect fit. Soon he was a regular at the Pershing Park clinics and on street rounds, managing our medical teams’ packs.
He began working behind the scenes as well on logistics projects, improving inventory control, work flow, and volunteer coordination. These improvements enhanced safety and inventory management and allowed for better coordination of volunteer efforts, all of which leads to a better experience for our beneficiaries.
During the week Aaron works at a local medical clinic. He intends to pursue medicine as a career, and knows that what he has learned from the volunteers and patients of Doctors Without Walls will be invaluable.
Ryan Nguyen- Communications Student Coordinator
Ryan became involved with DWW-SBSM after attending the Underserved Medicine Seminar in 2010. First participating as a scribe at Isla Vista clinics, Ryan was also part of the first ever Communications Team of DWW-SBSM. Now a senior at UCSB, Ryan serves as the Communications Student Leader in an effort to better advocate for the rights of DWW beneficiaries. When not volunteering or taking classes at UCSB, Ryan enjoys writing, playing ultimate frisbee, and attempting to cook for others.
Ryan can be contacted by filling out the form here.
Lauren Fryling- Communications Intern
Lauren Fryling is a fourth year biochemistry major at UCSB. She first learned about doctors without walls through her Underserved Medicine class at UCSB, which inspired her to get involved with organizations such as common ground and street health outreach. In addition to being the new communications intern, Lauren scribes with the street teams and volunteers at the women’s clinic. Lauren plans on attending medical school after college, and is currently the vice president of the Health Professionals Association, the largest pre-med organization at UCSB. In her free time Lauren enjoys volunteering at the local elementary school, working as a research assistant at UCSB, and playing volleyball.
Trevor Mells- Communications Intern
Trevor Mells is a third year Cell and Developmental Biology major at UCSB who plans to attend medical school after graduation. Taking the Underserved Medicine Course in winter of 2011 inspired him to get involved with Doctors Without Walls by going to the Women’s Clinic and participating in Street Health Outreach on campus. In addition to volunteering as a scribe with the Street Medicine team and working as an intern with the DWW Communications Team he enjoys volunteering at the local homeless shelter and tutoring at Isla Vista Elementary. Trevor hopes to use the skills and experience he gains with Doctors Without Walls to continue to aid underserved populations in his future career.
