Dawn Terashita , MD
Medical Director
Dr. Terashita was educated at the New York Medical College. She obtained her Masters of Public Health from the Loma Linda University of Public Health. Dr. Terashita specializes in Infectious Disease, Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. She also serves as a physician specialist at the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health focusing on Acute Communicable Disease Control and holds the position of the Hospital Outreach Unit Supervisor.
Rayann Aziz
Executive Director
Rayann Aziz arrived from South Africa in 1991 to work as a Physical Therapist. During preparation for a trip to Nepal & India in 2001, Rayann and her husband were fortunate to find a Passport Health in Houston, TX. The experience was so positive, that Rayann wanted to be part of this organization that would enable her to tie her love for travel with her background in the health field. Together with the Medical Director, Dr Dawn Terashita, Rayann opened the first Passport Health Los Angeles office in 2002. Her deep commitment to Passport Health travelers to provide the best possible service keeps her both challenged & happy with the path she has chosen.
Barbara Aaronson, RNP, BS
Travel Nurse Consultant
Barbara graduated from CSUN with a BS in Community Health Education and received her Nurse Practitioner certification from UCLA. She worked at UCLA for 12 years after graduating from nursing school. Eight of those years were spent working in the Student Health center where providing travel immunizations became part of her expertise. Barbara has also worked in primary care as an adult NP. She says that since joining the team in 2009, she has come full circle in her career. She enjoys providing health education to patients so they can make an informed decision regarding their healthcare and travel needs.
Becky Blackhawk, BSN, RN-BC, PHN
Travel Nurse Consultant
Becky Blackhawk earned her RN license in 2007 and was previously employed as a nursing assistant and EMT. With a primary background in Public Health and clinic nursing, Becky has a strong interest and expertise in immunization, vaccine research, epidemiology and tropical disease. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Science in Nursing at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, with hopes of teaching nursing to a new generation of disease prevention experts.
Desiree Leonard, BSN
Travel Nurse Consultant
A Registered Nurse for more than 26 years, Desiree received her BSN from CSULA and worked in Pediatrics and Labor & Delivery before becoming Chief Health Advisor to her husband and two daughters. More recently, she shifted her focus to the field of health and wellness and has worked with various companies offering health screenings, immunizations and counseling. At Passport Health, Desiree has found the perfect venue to combine her love of travel with her passion for preventative healthcare, endeavoring to ensure travelers have a safe and healthy travel experience.
Gayle Kerfoot, BSN
Travel Nurse Consultant
Gayle has been an RN for 40 years. She has had the pleasure of working with many clients in Ambulatory and Inpatient Oncology practices. She has a passion for teaching, mentoring, and for the prevention of all things preventable! After retiring from her rewarding career as an Oncology Nurse, she began to travel more extensively and she discovered that her passion for Nursing had not lessened. Gayle has traveled to Europe, South Pacific Islands, Asia, Mexico, Central America, New Zealand and Australia and would be glad to share her experiences. Her position as Travel Nurse Consultant with Passport Health, fuels her passions for Nursing and Travel as she educates her clients so their decisions ensure a wonderful and safe travel experience.
Jesslyn Hutton-Kahler, MS, FNP-BC
Travel Nurse Consultant
Jesslyn attended the Columbia University School of Nursing and graduated with a BSN and then returned to the University for her MSN, graduating in 2011. She has previously worked as a RN on the Surgical Step-Down Unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital before moving to California to work in women’s health and primary care as a Nurse Practitioner. At Passport Health, Jesslyn has the opportunity to combine her love of travel with her love of health education and preventative care services.
Joyce Taylor, RN
Travel Nurse Consultant
A graduate of Santa Monica College Nursing School , Joyce has been in the healthcare field for 35 years. She has worked in dermatology and plastic surgery for 16 years with leading practices in the Los Angeles area. She has traveled the world with her family and Passport Health gives her the opportunity to combine her love of travel with her medical and patient care experience. She enjoys travel as well as hiking, biking and spending time with her husband and three adult sons.
Marlene Aziz, RN
Travel Nurse Consultant
After spending 10 years as a registered nurse in Durban, South Africa, Nurse Marlene’s travel adventures begun with her move to the United States in 1992. Starting in Brooksville, FL, she made her way as a travel nurse to California on West Coast, working in Intensive Care & Cardiac Care Units. She eventually arrived in Los Angeles, which she is happy to call home for the last 20 years. Currently, when she is not working at UCLA in the Recovery Unit, she is preparing travelers at Passport Health to embark on their own adventures. Her passion for travel has taken her to Brazil, Vietnam, Cambodia, Italy, Spain, Peru, Tanzania, Mauritius, Greece, Nicaragua, the UK, Thailand & France. She says that travel will always be a big part of her life. She brings this sense of adventure & passion to her position as a Travel Nurse Consultant with Passport Health Los Angeles for the last 15 years.
Vicki Keller, BSN
Travel Nurse Consultant
Holding both a B.A in Anthropology from UCLA and a B.S. in Nursing from ASU, Nurse Vicki has been in the healthcare field for 30 years. The past eight years have been spent in the travel medicine field. She has worked on general medical and surgical floors of hospitals in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. She has also worked in outpatient offices specializing in Women’s Health Care and In-Vitro fertilization. Nurse Vicki has always been interested in science and the history of science. As an anthropology student, she spent 3 summers in Guatemala doing fieldwork. She enjoys the arts, especially folk and tribal art. She gardens and does art quilting in her free time. She recently made 3 summer trips to Italy, is married and has 2 adult children.
Stephanie Castle, BSN
Flu Nurse
A graduate of the University of Virginia, Nurse Stephanie has been a RN for 9 years now. She provided her services as a traveling Nurse for 5 years which allowed her to live in 15 different places over the course of 5 years. She’s been in Los Angeles for a little over 9 years and plans to stay put for a while! She currently works at UCLA and enjoys working for Passport Health providing flu shots & other wellness immunizations when the opportunity arises.
