[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 22, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING DR. BARBARA STAGGERS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 22, 2023

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
Dr. Barbara Staggers, a fierce advocate, civil servant, and a 
trailblazer in the medical community. I would like to extend my 
condolences to Dr. Staggers' husband, Chester Elmore, and their three 
children, William, Celeste, and Spencer, and her granddaughters, 
Allyson & Isabelle. They are in my prayers during this difficult time.
  Dr. Staggers was born on March 6, 1954, in New York but spent her 
first years in Japan, during her father's service with the Navy. Upon 
her family's return to the United States, Dr. Staggers was raised here 
in the Bay Area, the community she later spent the remainder of her 
life serving.
  Dr. Staggers boasted a brilliant academic record, earning a 
bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, 
Berkeley, a Master of Public Health, and a Doctor of Medicine from the 
University of California, San Francisco.
  Improving medical services for young boys and girls was Dr. Staggers' 
guiding mission. She hoped to uplift and inspire young people, most 
especially at-risk teenagers. This noble pursuit led Dr. Staggers to 
become an adolescent health specialist, with an incredibly 
distinguished thirty-year career. During her tenure with the Children's 
Hospital, Oakland, she became the director of the Adolescent Health 
Clinic. She oversaw the implementation of groundbreaking care and 
mentorship programs that has inspired generations of health care 
providers. She also founded the Community Health and Adolescent 
Mentoring Program for Success, an award-winning, three-year program 
that seeks to support minority high school students to explore health 
professions.
  Dr. Staggers distinguished medical career served as a framework for 
her civil service to our community. She spent her career advocating for 
equitable healthcare for all low income and historically marginalized 
children, founding mentorship programs for at-risk youth, and fighting 
for a healthcare system that serves all Americans.
  I had the honor to work with Dr. Staggers on several issues and 
projects. Her enthusiasm, brilliance and commitment to our young people 
always inspired me. I am deeply grateful for her friendship and 
support. While I mourn her loss, I celebrate her incredible life, which 
she lived fully. May she rest in peace and power.

                          ____________________