Doctors in the East Valley

Angel's journey into midwifery began on the other side of the world. She earned her nursing degree at the National University of Singapore and spent her early career as an OB/GYN nurse at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, one of Singapore's premier private hospitals. It was there, witnessing births and caring for women through some of the most transformative moments of their lives, that she knew she wanted to do more than assist, she wanted to lead that care. Angel moved to the United States and completed her Master of Science in Nursing with a Nurse Midwifery focus at the University of Colorado Denver, where she also earned a post-graduate certificate as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner. That combination gives her an unusually broad clinical lens, spanning pregnancy and birth through family planning and well-woman care. Outside the exam room, Angel is a serious home cook and baker who experiments with cuisines from around the world. Her favorite undertaking? Preparing sea cucumber from scratch, a painstaking, multi-day process that she says is absolutely worth every hour. She brings that same patience and attention to detail to every patient she sees.

Bella grew up in Houghton, Michigan, a place where it can snow for six months straight, so when she says she was excited to move to Arizona, she means it. At Michigan Technological University, she didn't just study human biology; she built community around it, founding the MTU Pre-Health Mentoring Program and leading the Student Well-Being Advocates as president. That impulse to lift up the people around her followed her to Marquette University, where she completed her PA training with clinical rotations in OB/GYN, surgery, and an international rotation in Belize that broadened her perspective on healthcare delivery in under-resourced settings. Bella is also a published researcher, with first-author work on arterial stiffness responses. What drew her to women's health was the relationship-based nature of the work, the chance to walk alongside patients through major life moments rather than treating a single episode. She is also a certified lactation consultant, a credential that reflects her belief that comprehensive care means showing up for patients beyond the exam room. Bella brings that same energy to MomDoc: curious, thorough, and ready to build something meaningful with every patient.

Christina's background in nutritional science might seem like an unusual starting point for a women's health PA, but it actually explains a lot about how she approaches patient care. Her undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, where she double-minored in biochemistry and Spanish, gave her a foundational understanding of how the body works at every level. She carried that curiosity into her PA program at Northern Arizona University, where she led a team in the AAPA Medical Challenge Bowl and co-authored research on Coccidioidomycosis. After graduating, Christina worked in urgent care at Banner, but she found herself wanting more than episodic encounters. She wanted to know her patients over time, to educate and empower them, to be part of the ongoing story of their health rather than a single chapter. Women's health offered exactly that. At MomDoc, Christina brings a bilingual practice, she is fluent in Spanish, and a natural gift for patient education that makes even the most complex topics feel approachable.

Dr. Curtis grew up in Salt Lake City and took an unusual route into OB/GYN. After studying biology at the University of Utah, he headed to Chicago for a master's in biomedical science at Midwestern University, where he served as Class President. He earned his DO from Marian University and completed residency at the University of Buffalo's Sisters of Charity Hospital, a program where he quickly became known for his teaching. Medical students nominated him for the Best Teaching Resident Award, and clinical faculty selected him as Resident of the Year. That dual recognition speaks to something fundamental about how Dr. Curtis practices: he is as committed to explaining things clearly as he is to the technical work. He has advanced training in robotic surgery for hysterectomy and endometriosis, and his research has explored osteopathic approaches to external cephalic version and abdominal cerclage outcomes. Dr. Curtis brings a hands-on, research-informed style to MomDoc, where he especially enjoys the mix of surgical precision and long-term patient relationships that OB/GYN offers.

Dr. Chico's commitment to his community was forged in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, when he provided care to underserved communities across Puerto Rico while still in training. That experience solidified what he already knew: medicine matters most when people need it most. He grew up on the island, studied natural sciences at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, and earned his medical degree at Ponce Health Sciences University. His OB/GYN residency at St. Luke's Episcopal Medical Center in Ponce made him Chief Resident and a two-time research award winner for work on pregnancy-related liver disease and preeclampsia prevention. Dr. Chico has advanced training in minimally invasive techniques including vNOTES and robotic surgery, and he holds a particular interest in urogynecology. What he loves about OB/GYN is the range: one day he is counseling a patient through a difficult decision, the next he is in the operating room. He brings that versatility and a bilingual practice to MomDoc's Chandler office.

Alicia's road to women's health started in a surprising place, pediatric care for medically complex children. That early experience taught her the value of listening carefully, thinking holistically, and never rushing a patient through an appointment. She earned her nursing degree from Chamberlain College of Nursing and later completed her family nurse practitioner training at Grand Canyon University, building expertise across women's health, family practice, and pediatric care. At MomDoc's Mercy Gilbert office, Alicia combines that broad clinical foundation with a warm, approachable style that puts patients at ease. She is the kind of provider who makes time for the extra question and who remembers the details that matter.

Before Angie ever set foot in a delivery room, she spent six years as a State Senator in South Dakota, advocating for underserved communities and learning, in a very different arena, what it means to show up for people during vulnerable moments. That chapter earned her the Harvey Milk Award from the White House in 2012, but it also planted a seed. After a decade in politics and nonprofit work, Angie pivoted to healthcare, starting with a psychology degree and then earning her nursing degree from Augustana University. She spent three years as a postpartum RN at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she served as charge nurse and preceptor, and another three years working with children and adolescents in an acute psychiatric facility in Sioux Falls. Each role deepened her conviction that the most meaningful care happens at the intersection of physical and emotional health. Angie completed her midwifery degree at Frontier Nursing University in 2022 and relocated to Arizona with her family. At MomDoc's Power office, she brings an uncommon combination of legislative advocacy, psychiatric insight, and clinical skill to her midwifery practice, the kind of background that makes her especially attuned to what her patients need, even when they are not sure how to ask for it.

Ashlee calls herself a true Arizona girl, but her path to MomDoc took a detour through Charlottesville, Virginia first. She played Division I softball at the University of Virginia on a full scholarship, earning her degree in American Studies before returning home to Arizona. The discipline and teamwork she learned as a college athlete carried right into her nursing career, she earned her BSN at Arizona State University and then jumped into some of the most high-pressure settings in medicine, working as an emergency room RN at Banner Desert Medical Center and in the cardiac cath lab at Southwest Cardiovascular Associates. But it was during her Family Nurse Practitioner training at Herzing University that everything came together. Ashlee rotated at MomDoc with Alicia Kimura, FNP, and within weeks knew that women's health was where she was meant to be. She brings the intensity of someone who has worked codes and cardiac emergencies, combined with the warmth and connection that women's health demands. That blend, calm under pressure, deeply relational, is what makes her a natural fit.

Dr. McDaniel grew up in Indiana and knew early on that she wanted a career where she could build real, lasting relationships with patients. After earning her biology degree from the University of Southern Indiana, she headed to Indiana University School of Medicine, then began residency at Case Western Reserve MetroHealth Medical Center in Ohio. She ultimately completed her OB/GYN training at the Sunrise Health GME Consortium in Las Vegas, where she was named Chief Resident and received the Award for Patient Care, an honor voted on by faculty and staff who saw her day in and day out. Throughout her training, Dr. McDaniel was drawn to leadership roles, serving on multiple committees that shaped how her residency program operated and how residents were supported. Her clinical interests center on robotic and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, an area where she has published research on expanding resident participation. She is also deeply invested in colposcopy and cervical pathology, the kind of meticulous, detail-oriented work that can catch problems early and change outcomes. Dr. McDaniel brings that same precision and care to every patient encounter at MomDoc.

Dr. Rowan is a Phoenix native who took the long way home. She grew up near Arcadia, then headed east to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where the small, rigorous academic environment shaped her love of science. Medical school brought her back to the University of Arizona, and residency took her to San Jose, California, for OB/GYN training at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. After finishing, she spent eight years in a group practice in Fairfield, California, honing the full breadth of obstetric and gynecologic care. But Arizona kept calling. Dr. Rowan returned to the Valley to be closer to family and has been practicing here ever since, bringing decades of experience and the kind of steady, grounded perspective that comes from a career built across multiple practice settings. She values long-term patient relationships and believes that great care starts with truly knowing the person sitting across from you.

Dr. Mily Nieves's path to women's health took her across three countries and two languages. She studied biology at the University of Puerto Rico before heading to Guadalajara, Mexico, where she earned her medical degree from the Autonomous University. That cross-cultural training shaped her approach to bilingual care over her 26-year career, meeting patients where they are, in every language and in every sense. Dr. Nieves completed her OB/GYN residency at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, then made her way to Arizona to join MomDoc. She brings a breadth of perspective that comes from learning medicine in different healthcare systems, and her patients appreciate the thoughtful, warm, and unhurried way she connects with them.

Dr. Andino grew up in Naranjito, a small mountain town in the Puerto Rican countryside, where the pace of life was slow but his curiosity was anything but. As an undergraduate at the University of Puerto Rico, he dove into research on treatments for congenital myasthenic syndrome, early evidence of a mind drawn to solving problems at the molecular level. Medical school took him to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, and a graduate certificate in public health broadened his lens beyond the exam room. But it was residency at Saint Luke's Episcopal Medical Center in Ponce that sharpened his clinical identity. There, Dr. Andino gravitated toward minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and robotics, served on the surgery committee, and coordinated the obstetric emergencies simulation workshop, equal parts technician and teacher. His research spans cervical ripening, induction of labor, and the management of severe preeclampsia, reflecting an interest in the moments when obstetric care demands both precision and calm. Dr. Andino is bilingual in English and Spanish, and he brings to every patient encounter the same quality he credits to his upbringing in Naranjito: the belief that good care starts with really knowing the people you serve.

Dr. DiGiacomo grew up in Gallup, New Mexico, where the landscape was big but the town was small, the kind of place where you know your neighbors and your doctors by name. She studied Spanish at Trinity University in San Antonio before finding her way to medicine through a post-baccalaureate program at the University of New Mexico. That bilingual foundation would prove just as important as any clinical rotation; today she cares for patients in both English and Spanish, bridging a gap that too many women in the Valley still face. During residency in Tulsa, Dr. DiGiacomo discovered her love for minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and earned recognition for both her surgical skill and her dedication to teaching. She describes herself as a true generalist at heart, equally at home in the delivery room and the operating suite. When it came time to choose where to build a career, Arizona called her back, this time to the East Valley, closer to the family roots that have always grounded her.

Aya grew up right here in Gilbert, Arizona, and built her entire educational path close to home, from Chandler Gilbert Community College to Arizona State University and then A.T. Still University for her PA training. Her capstone project on smoking cessation was notable enough to be featured in the NCCPA's weekly newsletter, an early sign of her instinct for community-focused care. That instinct runs deep: Aya has volunteered with Phoenix Allies for Community Health locally and traveled to Tyre, Lebanon to serve alongside the Red Crescent on a medical mission. With clinical training that spanned OB/GYN, primary care, emergency medicine, and surgery, she brings a well-rounded perspective to women's health. For Aya, medicine has always been about serving the community she grew up in, and now she gets to do exactly that.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Christine Brass-Jones has been the kind of physician other doctors look to for guidance. She built and led a thriving practice over two decades, earning the trust of patients and colleagues alike, which is how she ended up serving as Chief of Staff at Banner Ocotillo. But the leadership roles are just one part of the story. What keeps Dr. Brass-Jones in this field is the relationship side of medicine: being there for a patient's first pregnancy, then welcoming them back years later for a different chapter. She brings that long-view philosophy to MomDoc's Tempe office, where she cares for women through every stage of life with the steady confidence that comes from having seen just about everything.

Dr. Faro is the kind of physician who has done research on a remote Antarctic station and still calls the delivery room her favorite place to be. Originally from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, she studied biomedical sciences at Auburn University, then headed to Creighton in Omaha for both her master's thesis, studying parasitology, and her medical degree. Residency at the University of Texas at Houston confirmed her love for OB/GYN, and her colleagues took notice early, recognizing her with teaching and resident awards across multiple years. After training, Dr. Faro built a practice in Houston and spent over 16 years at The Woman's Hospital of Texas, where she rose through the ranks from Secretary to Vice President to President of Medical Staff, ultimately chairing the Department of Obstetrics. Along the way, she contributed to peer-reviewed research and took part in a National Science Foundation project with the United States Antarctic Program, two months on the ice, a long way from the labor ward. When it was time for a new chapter, Dr. Faro brought that breadth of experience to MomDoc's Scottsdale office. Whether she is managing a high-volume delivery day or walking a patient through a complex diagnosis, she draws on a career defined by curiosity, leadership, and an unwillingness to stay in one lane.

Dr. DeRusso did not take the most direct path to OB/GYN, and that is exactly what makes her the provider she is. After earning dual degrees in biology and psychology at Gonzaga University, she moved to Bozeman, Montana, where she spent years as an Associate Director of Clinical Studies at BioScience Laboratories. Leading antimicrobial research teams and presenting to institutional review boards taught her something medical school alone cannot: how to think like a scientist and communicate like a collaborator. When she decided to pursue medicine, Dr. DeRusso was selected as one of the top two osteopathic candidates from Montana for the competitive WICHE exchange program, bringing her to Midwestern University in Arizona. Residency at Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island followed, where she served as Chief of Quality and sought out advanced training in gynecologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. That combination, research rigor, quality leadership, and subspecialty exposure at one of the country's leading cancer centers, gives Dr. DeRusso a clinical perspective that is both thorough and grounded. She is the kind of physician who wants to understand the whole picture before making a recommendation, and her patients can feel the difference.