Catherine Son

I was born on the outskirts of Vancouver, British Columbia, but did the majority of my learning, growing, and mistake-making in Portland, Oregon. Eighteen years of Pacific Northwest living left me dreaming about the California sunshine and led me to Santa Clara University, where I studied public health. When I had the unexpected chance to work in the medical clinics of the Santa Clara County jail, I took it, not knowing that my time in jail would become a turning point for me in how I viewed the injustices of incarceration, the importance of social determinants of health, and the belief that health care is a fundamental human right. In my free time, you can most likely find me feeding peanut butter and apples to my dog Cheddar, attempting to improve my cocktail-making skills, scoping out my local cheese counter, dreaming about snowboarding and boating, or re-watching Parks and Recreation.