Mary Anne Foo, founder of the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, recognized as distinguished alum by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Mary Anne Foo, founding director of the largest non-profit serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Orange County, California, has been inducted into the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s “Alumni Hall of Fame” for 2025.

“UCLA Fielding School of Public Health transformed my knowledge and skills to address beyond individual behavioral change to systems and policy change approaches to improve health care access for the most underserved communities,” said Foo, who received her master of public health (MPH) from UCLA Fielding in 1993 and founded OCAPICA in 1997; the group serves more than 80,000 individuals annually. “I am so honored to still be working with so many of the faculty, researchers, and UCLA alumni who are addressing the highest needs in public health today.”

In December, seven distinguished graduates of UCLA Fielding were recognized for their work since graduation as having a major impact on public health, in Los Angeles and globally. Foo’s work over the past three decades has provided desperately needed services to immigrants and refugees, in southern California and nationally, said Dr. Jacqueline “Jackie” Tran, a UCLA Fielding alum (MPH ’04, DrPH ’13), who nominated Foo for the Hall of Fame.

“She’s taken the education she gained here in Community Health Sciences and used it to expand access to resources and health care, mentor public health professionals, and remind us of all of the importance of community, collaboration, and social justice,” Tran said. “Mary Anne has built lasting cross-racial alliances, mentored countless individuals - including me - and ensured Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices are included in key decision-making spaces.”

The latest honorees join a list of more than 90 UCLA Fielding School of Public Health alum, ranging from the classes of 1963 to 2019. Nominees are considered by a committee made up of the UCLA Fielding Public Health Alumni Association Board and serving faculty members.

That legacy, of all UCLA Fielding Hall of Fame inductees, is key to the enduring impact of the school on public health around the globe, said Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a distinguished professor of biostatistics.

“We are living in a time of unprecedented challenges and uncertainties for universities and for public health, and organizations like the Public Health Alumni Association are more important now than ever,” Brookmeyer said. “Whether your career is well-established or if you’re just starting out - your presence here today strengthens our collective resolve to improve public health in Los Angeles, in California, and beyond."