Where Our Story Began
Meet Our Founders
Dr. Denisse Rojas Marquez, MD, MPP
Pre-Health Dreamers CEO< Co-Founder, Board Member & MD Connect Team Member
Dr. Denisse Rojas Marquez envisions a health care system where no individual is excluded. Growing up undocumented, she and her family experienced limited access to health care, often delaying treatment or relying on free and subsidized services. These experiences inspired Denisse to become a physician serving underserved communities, advocating for patients, and helping shape more equitable health care policies.
In 2012, Denisse co-founded Pre-Health Dreamers (PHD), a national organization providing advising, resources, and advocacy for undocumented students pursuing careers in health care. Her work has helped expand opportunities for undocumented students and advance greater inclusion within the health professions.
Denisse earned her MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and her Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is currently an attending physician at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, continuing her commitment to serving underserved communities through medicine, advocacy, and leadership.
Dr. New Latthivongskorn, MD, MPH
Pre-Health Dreamers CEO, Co-Founder & Board Member
Dr. New Latthivongskorn is an immigrant rights and health justice activist, family and community physician, and co-founder of Pre-Health Dreamers (PHD). After immigrating to the United States as a child and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, New experienced firsthand the barriers immigrant families face when navigating the U.S. health care system. These experiences inspired his commitment to improving health care access for marginalized communities.
Dr. Latthivongskorn graduated from UC Berkeley, earned a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and became the first undocumented graduate of UC San Francisco’s Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US). His advocacy has focused on expanding access to health care and higher education and supporting undocumented students pursuing health careers.
A 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, New has received numerous awards for his commitment to public health, service, and humanism in medicine. He continues this work as a physician, bringing together immigrant rights, health, medicine, and community advocacy.
Dr. Angel Ku, Ph.D.
Pre-Health Dreamers CEO & Co-Founder
Dr. Angel Ku is a Mexican born scientist in the field of precision medicine at Varian’s department of Global Translation Science. His passion to improve the lives of cancer patients has led him to investigate new therapeutic strategies for cancer. His expertise in systems biology has led to him combine both experimental and computational approaches for discovering novel cancer therapeutics.
During his graduate and undergraduate career Angel organized with several student-led organization to advocate for access to health careers for undocumented students. He was a co-founder of San Francisco State University’s undocumented student organization and a member of Immigrants Rising Outreach Team. Outside his lab enjoy enjoys riding his bike through California’s beautiful scenery with friends and family.
Meet Our PHD
2026-2027
Project Advisory &
Fundraising Committee
The PHD Fundraising Committee works to strengthen and sustain Pre-Health Dreamers’ mission by developing and implementing fundraising strategies that support our long-term growth. The committee builds relationships with new funders, identifies unrestricted funding opportunities and grants aligned with our work, and cultivates sponsors and partners for key initiatives, including our annual end-of-summer in-person conference.
