Dr. Richard Pan is a pediatrician, former UC Davis faculty and former State Senator representing the Sacramento region. He is the first Asian American to represent the City of Sacramento in the California legislature, where the Transcontinental Railroad began over 150 years ago. Dr. Pan is Immediate Past-Chair of the Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPILC) and was Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs and Co-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the 2020 U.S. Census. As AAPILC Chair, Dr. Pan led passage of the $165 million API Equity Budget in 2021. Dr. Pan authored legislation to establish the state Racial Equity Commission; prohibit discrimination by business establishments on the basis of citizenship, primary language, and immigration status; and championed Medi-Cal coverage for all low-income undocumented Californians by 2024.
Prior to serving in the legislature, Dr. Pan was a UC Davis professor and Director of the Pediatric Residency Program where he established a nationally recognized service-learning curriculum on child advocacy and social determinants of health, Communities and Health Professionals Together. He was the principle investigator for over $2 million in grants in health professions education and health services research and authored numerous research and policy articles published in peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Pan co-founded and served as chair of Healthy Kids Healthy Future, where he helped secure health, dental and vision coverage for over 65,000 children in the Sacramento area. He helped create the Sacramento Health Improvement Project, bringing together doctors, hospitals, clinics and community leaders to ensure that all Sacramento County residents have access to primary health care. Dr. Pan also serves on the United Way California Capitol Region Board and served on the Sacramento First Five Commission.
Dr. Pan received several awards for his community and professional leadership including the UC Davis Chancellor’s Award for Diversity and Community, the Medical Board of California Physician Humanitarian Award, the American Academy of Pediatrics Abraham Jacobi Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in pediatrics and Child Health Advocate Award, the Asian Pacific State Employees Association Foundation Community Leadership Award, and the Asian Pacific Islander Capitol Staff API Staff Champion Award.
Dr. Pan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University, a Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Public Health from Harvard University. He is a child of immigrants from Taiwan, and he practices as a volunteer physician at the Sacramento County Health Center caring for children on Medi-Cal or who are uninsured.