College of Health Sciences and Human Services

Candra Carr, MS, PA-C

Candra Carr, PA-C is Assistant Professor and Interim Program Director for the MSPA program. She will be working with students during their clinical rotations and teaching across multiple courses. She earned a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from LeMoyne University, Syracuse, NY in 2007. She has 11 years of clinical experience as a PA and 4 years’ experience teaching PAs at both the University of Washington Medex PA program and Touro University. She created the first healthcare interpreter program at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2017. Her heart for the underserved is demonstrated by her work in the US Peace Corps service in Bolivia. Her previous experience in teaching and clinical site development will be invaluable as we expand the number of clinical sites in the tri-county region for our students.

Christopher Forest, DHSc, PA-C, DFAAPA

Dr. Christopher Forest, PA-C is Professor for the Master of Science Physician Assistant Program. He has 10 years of previous full-time teaching experience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC Primary Care PA program and a total of 33 years' clinical experience as a PA in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Urology, and Urgent Care. His publications and national lectures reflect his passion for teaching, service learning, interprofessional education, medical ethics, and the importance of the Spanish language in the health professions.

Being of Nicaraguan descent, Dr. Forest was raised speaking Spanish. His parents instilled in him a heart for the Latino culture and a clear commitment to caring for the underserved. He has led students on medical mission trips to Honduras and Nicaragua. The focus of his doctorate was the provision of culturally sensitive health care for Latino migrant farmworkers. Link to publications and presentations.

Valerie Berry, MD

Valerie Berry, MD is Assistant Professor and principal faculty for the MSPA program, responsible for teaching Clinical Medicine courses, Advanced Anatomy and Physiology courses, Pharmacology courses and a final semester Board preparation course. Dr. Berry brings 32 years of experience as a primary care physician caring for diverse, underserved communities. Her heart is a perfect match for our program’s mission. She served as Medical Director at the Stanford Primary Care Associate Program for 13 years, bringing extensive experience teaching PA students and designing medical curricula. Dr. Berry’s contribution to the program to date has been invaluable in guiding the flow of topics and integrating the content using a spiral curriculum design.

Nicole Reichhart, MSPA, PA-C

Nicole Reichhart, PA-C is Assistant Professor and didactic faculty for the MSPA program. She earned a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Albany Medical College in 2012 and completed an Emergency Medicine fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2013. She has 6 years of clinical experience as a PA, much of which is in high acuity settings. Her past experience demonstrates her dedication to caring for patients in underserved communities and has precepted PA students in those settings. In addition to her respected teaching skills, Professor Reichhart brings expertise in EKG interpretation and Point-of-Care ultrasound training, which enhance our students’ ability to identify and diagnose disease processes. 

Leonard Caputo, MD, MBA, FACS

Leonard Caputo, MD, is the Medical Director for the MSPA program. Dr. Caputo is Board Certified in Surgery and has been practicing in the tri-county region for about 25 years.  He completed his Doctor of Medicine degree and his General Surgery residency at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. His post-doctoral training includes an MBA from George Washington University School of Business.  Dr. Caputo served as Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital for over 10 years. He has held hospital privileges at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP), Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, and St. Louise Regional Hospital. He has been Medical Director at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, and Sound Physicians/Dominican Hospital, Dignity Health. He has experience training PA students and caring for the underserved populations in our community. 

Alfred Sadler, MD FACP

Fred Sadler, MD, is Associate Medical Director and Co-Founder of the program. His emphasis is developing clinical training sites, enhancing supervised clinical practice experiences for the students and helping with their presentation skills. He served as a General Internist for 35 years in Monterey County, precepted PA and NP students, and was instrumental in launching the MSPA Program at CSUMB.

Dr. Sadler is nationally recognized for his contributions to the PA profession, for developing licensure for PAs in 1968, Founding Director of the Yale PA Program in 1970, First President of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) in 1972, co-author of the first book on PAs in 1972, Past President of the PA History Society and authoring many articles about the PA profession.