Program Leadership

Troy A. Johnston, MD

Troy A. Johnston, MD is the Interim Pediatric Residency Program Director. He is a pediatric cardiologist who specializes in interventional catheterization and has worked at Seattle Children’s Hospital for over 20 years. During that time he has worked extensively in pediatric graduate medical education, including starting the pediatric cardiology fellowship and subsequently serving as fellowship program director for 15 years. He works closely with the pediatric residents during the cardiology elective and has been a clinical coach of residents since the program was initiated. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife, three adult daughters, dog, and two cats. He enjoys going to the gym, photography, and skiing.

Elena Griego, MD

Elena Griego, MD, joined as an Associate Program Director in 2020. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Washington. She is passionate about partnering with residents in clinical and non-clinical settings and uses these experiences to promote curriculum and faculty development focused on improving teaching and assessment in the clinical setting. Clinically, she spends her time caring for hospitalized children at Seattle Children’s Hospital and strives to ensure every patient and family receives timely and equitable care throughout their hospitalization. Outside of work, she enjoys attending local sporting events (Sounders, Seahawks, etc), spending time on (or near) the water, cooking for friends, discovering new dog parks with her pandemic puppy Zia, and exploring the food scene in Seattle.

Mollie Grow, MD, MPH

Mollie Grow, MD, MPH, is an Associate Program Director, Director of the Continuity Clinics, and is faculty with the REACH Advocacy Pathway. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and general pediatrician in the Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Washington. She is passionate about providing general outpatient pediatric care for all ages at the UW Roosevelt Pediatric Care Center and supporting families at the UW Newborn Nursery. She also mentors and teaches medical students with the UW School of Medicine Colleges program. Her interests include addressing health equity and reducing disparities through advocacy, early childhood relationships, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in care. She loves working with residents to discern their own path and find fulfillment in their pediatric careers. You can find her with her two daughters and husband biking, hiking, running, enjoying our wonderful local and national parks, and advocating for climate justice.

Abena Knight, MD

Abena Knight, MD, is the Associate Clerkship Director for Inpatient Pediatrics and a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hospital Medicine. She serves as a Faculty Advisor for the Residency Diversity Committee and is the Faculty Coordinator for the funded visiting elective for students underrepresented in medicine. She is the new Associate Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Pediatrics, which includes a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her educational interests include medical student education, diversity recruitment in pediatrics, and cultural humility training. She enjoys mentoring and advising trainees at all levels. In her spare time, she loves watching sports; enjoying local restaurants and concerts; and spending time with her family and friends.

Krystle Perez, MD, MPH

Celeste Quitiquit, MD

Celeste Quitiquit, MD, is an Associate Program Director and Director of residency recruitment. She is a Clinical Associate Professor in General Pediatrics and Sports Medicine/Orthopedics and serves as Medical Director for the Athletic Training Program. She served as a former chief resident for our program and rejoined the UW community after completing fellowships in sports medicine and medical education in 2014. Her professional interests include injury prevention, community advocacy, diversity recruitment, and implicit bias. Celeste grew up locally in South King County and now raises her family there. She loves spending time outdoors with her husband, three young children and extended family.

Tracy Seimears

Tracy Seimears, MD, M.Ed joined as an Associate Program Director in 2022. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Washington. She believes deeply in the power of education to develop conversations and advance health equity for patients, families, and all members who work at Seattle Children’s Hospital.  She serves as the faculty advisor for Seattle Health Equity Rounds. Clinically, she enjoys providing equitable care for children who are hospitalized. Outside of work she enjoys time outdoors with family and friends and eating all the food Seattle has to offer. She loves kayaking with her dog Clifford.

Tara Wenger, MD, PhD

Tara Wenger MD, PhD is an Associate Program Director and Director of the Research Track for the pediatric residency program. She is an Associate Professor in the Division of Genetic Medicine and is the Associate Medical Director of Inpatient Genetic Services. Her research interests focus on improving outcomes for hospitalized patients with genetic disease through clinical introduction of newly developed methods of genetic testing and precision medicine therapies. She is passionate about mentorship of resident and fellow pediatrician scientists and is a member of the National Physician-Scientist Training Collaborative Workgroup. She is an associate editor for the American Journal of Medical Genetics and a consulting editor for GeneReviews. When she is not in the hospital, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters, exploring the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, raising backyard chickens, and trying out new recipes using fruits and veggies from local Farmers Markets and veggie co-ops.

Chief Residents

Anthony L. Bui, MD, MPH

Anthony L. Bui, MD, MPH is a pediatric chief resident and acting instructor at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics and an attending general pediatrician at Harborview Pediatrics Clinic. A child of Vietnamese refugees, he grew up in Orange County, California and was a first generation college student. Prior to attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Anthony worked for 5 years as a strategy consultant and public health researcher. He is interested in general academic pediatrics, advocacy, and health equity research. During residency Anthony co-founded Seattle Health Equity Rounds, co-chaired the Residency Diversity Committee (DComm), served as a delegate to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and conducted research related to community safety, police violence, health spending, and health equity education. Outside of work you can possibly find him eating pho in Seattle’s Little Saigon with his partner or running through a Seattle park. 

Julianne “Julie” Edwards, MD

Julie Edwards, MD is a pediatric chief resident and acting instructor at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics. Growing up in rural Vermont, she went to the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown and has a special interest in rural medicine, community health, and child advocacy. During residency training, Julie participated in the REACH-Toppenish track where she helped develop parent support groups, funded through a CATCH grant through the American Academy of Pediatrics. She also helped create a Community Advisory Board at her continuity clinic in Kent-Des Moines and was a residency lead in recruitment. She is exploring a career as a community hospitalist. Outside of work, she enjoys trail running, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, visiting local breweries, reading a good book, and going on a weekend road trip with her partner. 

Tania Haag, MD

Tania Haag, MD is a pediatric chief resident and acting instructor at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics and an attending general pediatrician at the Odessa Brown Community Clinic. A twin who was one of the first babies to receive surfactant, Tania grew up in Sacramento County, California. She worked as a high school teacher in rural North Carolina prior to medicine and spent one year in between her medical training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine working on school based health initiatives. During residency training, Tania participated in the REACH-Toppenish track where she helped develop parent support groups, funded through a CATCH grant through the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is interested in residency curriculum development and is considering a career in general pediatrics and school-based health. Outside of work she loves cooking, nerding out about current events, hiking, and spending time with her husband.

Francesca “Frankie” Ross, MD

Frankie Ross, MD is a pediatric chief resident and acting instructor at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics. Growing up in Oakland, California, she was a Division 1 collegiate soccer player and subsequently worked in EMR implementation prior to attending the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Frankie is interested in acute and procedural care, pulmonology, hospital flow, and emergency medicine. During residency she was a session leader in Seattle Health Equity Rounds focused on the experience of Black women in healthcare, organized the Residency Diversity Committee (DComm’s) funded student visiting program, and currently leads mock code and procedural education. She loves kayaking, floating in Seattle’s many lakes, and attending live sports events. 

Kelly Shontell, MD 

Kelly Shontell, MD is a pediatric chief resident and acting instructor at the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics. Growing up on a macadamia nut farm in Kohala, Hawai’i, she is passionate about her Native Hawaiian and Japanese cultures. Prior to attending the University of Washington School of Medicine, Kelly was a high school teacher in Chicago. She has special interests in indigenous health and health disparities. She is one of the founding members of Seattle Health Equity Rounds, a leader in the University of Washington’s Network for Underrepresented Residents and Fellows (NURF), a member of the residency’s INCLUDE curricular team, and has been involved in advocacy during her time in residency. She is considering a career in general pediatrics, cardiology, or emergency medicine. Outside of work, Kelly enjoys skateboarding, ulana lauhala, and spending time with her daughter, dogs and husband.

Support Staff

Lauree Herrmann

Lauree Herrmann serves as the Program Management Specialist. She has worked in a variety of capacities at Seattle Children’s since she started in 2010, but finds her work with the pediatric residents the most rewarding. She works extensively with the Clinical Competency Committee, intern orientation, lunch conferences, special events and day-to-day workings of the residency program. She comes to Seattle by way of North Carolina, where she graduated from Meredith College. She enjoys volunteering with cancer patients and their families, as well as exploring all that Seattle (and the great Pacific Northwest) has to offer. She has been known to design a weekend getaway for residents and would love to help you discover the Emerald City, as well.

Scott Olson, MHA

Scott Olson is the residency program manager. He was raised in the Seattle area and completed undergraduate studies at the University of Washington. He first joined the program in 2008 as a program coordinator. During that time, Scott returned to the University of Washington to earn a Master of Health Administration. After a period managing fellowship programs in the Heart Center, Scott returned to the residency program in 2021 to fill the manager role. He is passionate about applying QI methods to make improvements in medical education, resident well-being, and health equity. Outside of work, Scott enjoys cooking, biking, and family time with his husband, their son, and foster children they’ve had the opportunity to care for.

Crystal Gonzalez-Guzman

Crystal González-Guzmán is one of the pediatric residency coordinators. She joined the GME in 2018 and served as an Intern Scheduler prior to joining the coordinator team. Crystal is involved in resident recruitment, intern retreat, special projects, and the daily operations of the residency program. She grew up between Zacatecas, Mexico and Leavenworth, WA before graduating from the University of Washington, Bothell. During her free time, she enjoys concerts, power lifting, cooking, and going to soccer games.

Theresa Vu, MFA

Theresa Vu is one of the pediatric residency coordinators. She previously worked in the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine department at Seattle Children’s. She currently works with the Diversity Committee, continuity clinics, special events, and daily on-goings of the residency program. She grew up in Spokane, WA before receiving her BFA at the University of Washington and her MFA at New Mexico State University. She was an instructor at Bay Area colleges for nearly 10 years before moving back to Washington in 2012. In her free time, she enjoys hiking all over the PNW, knitting socks, and working in her garden.