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Medical Director

Dr. Teresa Chang

Dr. Teresa Chang has been a family practice physician for over 17 years in western New York. She grew up in Buffalo and has been practicing in Rochester, NY since 2002. Beginning in 2013 Dr. Chang has also incorporated integrative medicine (energy medicine and mind-body medicine) with her family practice.

Dr. Chang is familiar with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) such as SYTHC, having worked in both rural and inner city clinics where she spoke Spanish all day long. In addition to being bilingual in English and Spanish, she is also conversationally fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Her hobbies include cooking, watching travel videos, and learning about different cultures.

Dr. Chang joined the clinic in December 2019 after making a huge decision to move across the country to California. She welcomes the beautiful weather and scenery and is looking forward to this new chapter in her life!

Physicians Assistant

Kaitlyn Lewis, PA-C

Kaitlyn Lewis is a Physician Assistant who recently moved back to Santa Barbara County in 2021. She has lived here on and off for the last 10 years and is very happy to be back in the area. Kaitlyn started working the clinic as the COVID vaccine lead. She has now joined the practice full time in family practice seeing all ages. She is a graduate of Marshall B. Ketchum University with a Masters in Medical Science. Prior to starting at the clinic in 2021, PA Lewis worked in an inner city Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in south Los Angeles county.

In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys camping and hiking across California. She also enjoys being back near the beach where she likes to take out her paddle board. As a Los Angeles native, she cheers on the Rams during football season.

Physicians Assistant

Jeremy Espino, PA-C

Jeremy Espino has been a Physician Assistant for the past sixteen years on the Central Coast and has worked in Family Practice and Pain Management. He is a graduate of Western University of Health Sciences since 2005, and has enjoyed being able to provide health care using a holistic model focusing on the mind, body and spirit for better health. He has had the opportunity to care for multiple population types using a bilingual and bicultural approach.

Jeremy has resided in Orcutt for the past thirty-three years, and takes pride in serving the community he grew up in. Jeremy has a wife, two children and three pugs. He enjoys martial arts, mountain biking, and camping.

Family Practice

Dr. Nicole Gullick

Dr. GullickDr. Gullick grew up in San Diego and obtained her medical degree from the University of Southern California in 1994. After graduation, she moved to Arizona, where she raised two amazing children and spent the first 20 years of her career.  There, she worked in many different areas of medicine, including primary care, urgent care, hospital medicine, intensive care, long-term acute care, hospice, clinical research, weight management and wellness. She returned to southern California in 2016 and worked at a tribal clinic in Alpine for a few years.  She transferred to Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic in the fall of 2020 and is delighted to now call central California her home.

From her diverse experiences, she recognized the undeniable truth about lifestyle and its pivotal role in chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and some cancers. She developed a passion for helping patients take control of their own health by managing their weight, improving sleep, optimizing nutrition, maximizing activity level and managing stress. She believes in being an example to her patients by staying active and following a healthy diet.  On work days, you may see her cycling to work or leading an exercise class at lunchtime.  In her free time, she loves to hike, play golf and go salsa dancing (although this has been on hold during the pandemic).  She enjoys cooking and loves to experiment with creating enticing yet healthy dishes, particularly plant-based ones using locally-farmed produce.  She will happily share her recipes and health tips with anyone who is interested.  Just ask!

Pediatricians

Dr. Michele Saunders

Dr. Michele Saunder grew up in Southern California and attended UCLA for undergrad, medical school and her Pediatric Residency where she finished in July 1995. After her residency, she joined Dr. Anthony Howe in his private practice in Solvang. In September 2011, in conjunction with working with Dr. Howe at his private practice, she began at Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic where she continues to reside. Michele loves being a pediatrician and serving the community. Michele has four grown children, none of which has entered the medical field.

Pediatricians

Dr. Gowthamy Balakumaran (“Dr. Bala”)

Dr. Gowthamy Balakumaran (“Dr. Bala”) joined the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic in September 2020.  She has worked as a Pediatrician since 1992 and was previously working at Lompoc Health Care Center with the Santa Barbara Public Health Department prior to joining us.

Originally from Sri Lanka, she attended medical school and pediatric MD training and came to the United States in 1995.  She completed her pediatric residency in 2000 in LAC+USC (LA county) and Board certified in Pediatrics.

She has a strong interest in preventative health for all her pediatric patients.

When not at work, she loves to garden and enjoys hiking.

Chiropractor

Dr. Andrew West

Dr. Andrew WestDr. Andrew West brought specialized chiropractic services to patients of the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic in July 2019 on a part-time basis. He enjoys the opportunity to serve more local tribal and non-tribal patients at the clinic. He specializes in musculoskeletal sprains and strains of the spine and extremities. Dr. West completed his graduate studies in 2002 from the Palmer College of Chiropractic West in San Jose, CA.

Dr. West grew up in Los Olivos and always knew he wanted to give back and help the people in this valley. He moved back to the Santa Ynez Valley in 2003 to start his own practice in which he has owned and operated for the past 16 years. Dr. West also volunteers his time to the Santa Ynez High School athletics department and has been doing so since 2003.

Dr. West has been married to his wife Heather for 19 years. They have three daughters; Kiely and Samantha, identical twins and seniors in high school and Addison who is in seventh grade. In his spare time, Dr. West plays baseball on an adult men’s team, and together with his family, they all love to go long-distance running, hiking, and ride horses.

Podiatry

Dr. Brandon Slade

Dr. Brandon SladeDr. Brandon Slade is a Podiatrist who brought specialized medical and surgical services of the foot and ankle to Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic starting in 2018. He completed his graduate medical studies in 2008 from the California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California. He went on to complete surgical residency training at VA Puget Healthcare System in Tacoma, Washington and moved to San Francisco to further extend his training at VA San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Group. Brandon moved to the central coast in 2011 to join a group practice in San Luis Obispo and has since opened his own practice in Santa Maria. He enjoys each opportunity that has come to serving tribal and non-tribal patients here in Santa Ynez. Dr. Slade cherishes his wife and three children. Together they love exploring the outdoors, backpacking, and hitting the beach.

Medical Provider

Dr. Christensen

Dr. ChristensonAfter growing up in the small town of Bishop, CA, Danny Christensen made his way out to the coast to attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  He received his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Arizona College of Optometry in Glendale, AZ, where he finished in the top 10 of his class. After graduation, Dr. Christensen was selected for a coveted residency in ocular disease with the Santa Fe Indian Hospital in Santa Fe, NM. He has presented at numerous national optometry meetings and has had work published in Primary Care Optometry News and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Journal. Dr. Christensen also reviews education material for the Association of the Regulatory Board of Optometry. Most recently, Dr. Christensen worked for Kendall-Shepard Eye Center in Lompoc and Shepard Eye Center in Santa Maria. Dr. Christenson is excited to join the team at SYTHC! When he’s not seeing patients, Dr. Christensen spends time with his wife and daughters.

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