Dr. Jennifer Pena and her husband Dr. Benton R. Franklin spend effort and time rescuing canine of their residence of San Juan, Puerto Rico. As with every trigger that one can be obsessed with, there are some days which can be harder than others. Ultimately, realizing they will save an animal and both discover it a brand new residence or add a brand new member to their very own household makes the trouble worthwhile.
“We’re massive rescuers,” she shared. “Now we have a big stray inhabitants, and my Grandmama taught me to feed and care for the strays,”
She met Benton within the navy, and their widespread bond of service in each navy and drugs has saved them collectively since.
“He really simply received out of the navy in July of this 12 months. He’s a common surgeon, and he’s the good one. We served collectively within the Medical Corps. The navy will at all times be part of who we’re individually and as a pair.”
Pena lives with Benton in San Juan now, however Puerto Rico can also be the place her origin story started. She, alongside along 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 along 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 at all times taking part in exterior, getting soiled. Positively not the girly sort.”
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 the whole lot 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 recognize one of the best 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 effectively. 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 yet one more medical subject connection for her. Army 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, nevertheless it’s not just like the idea of service was overseas 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 straightforward resolution to make.”
Pena entered lively obligation 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 help these she served with, nevertheless it led her to breaking down boundaries. 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 boundaries for Latina women in all places. Pena was the primary Latina to serve the White Home as a doctor. It wasn’t ever a aim she pursued, nor was it spoken about in a giant manner. She was knowledgeable of this by a colleague throughout a random dialog.
“It was a kind of proper place, proper time issues,” she mentioned humbly. “It was certainly one of 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 obligation in 2019. Apart from her work in rescuing, she additionally at the moment works as Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer for Measured, a Y-Combinator well being startup firm offering weight administration options and dietary companies. Past that, she additionally works with Oya Care (the primary girls’s digital well being clinic in Brazil) as a Medical Advisor to the Board. She can also 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 skilled 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 certainly one of Enterprise Insider’s “30 Leaders Underneath 40 Altering Healthcare in 2021.” That very same 12 months, 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 generally is a gentle for younger those that wish to make an identical influence on their communities, nation, and even the world.
“It’s important 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 the event you don’t see those that appear like 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 may be it.”
Comply with Pena @jennifer.m.pena on Instagram
