Dr. Juan Tapia-Mendoza is the founder, CEO, and president of Pediatría 2000. He was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. In 1978, he returned to Santo Domingo and enrolled in the medical school of the Universidad Central del Este. In the 1980s, Dr. Tapia began his training as a pediatrician at the Federico Gómez Children's Hospital in Mexico City. Dr. Tapia completed his postdoctoral studies at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine at the Elmhurst Hospital Center.
Dr. Tapia became the first Dominican to hold the following positions: Chief Resident of the Department of Pediatrics at Elmhurst Hospital, Coordinator of the hospital's pediatric HIV clinic, and Chief of Pediatrics at a hospital in Manhattan (St. Clare's Hospital). He was a professor at Columbia University, a Community Affairs advisor at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and a pediatrician at the New York Babies and Children's Hospital. Currently, Dr. Tapia works at St. Luke’s Hospital of Mount Sinai.
Dr. Tapia has received numerous awards for his community service. Among them are recognition from the New York State Assembly and the "New Yorker of the Week" award, presented by the New York 1 television network to outstanding citizens, including:
Link to the documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOFZJAVYlMg
In Spanish:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaXgZ5qqBmo
