

Meet The Team

Mahdi Diab, MD, MSPH
Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Diab is the founder and executive director of SoCal Street Medicine. He is a family physician, humanitarian, and artist who dedicates much of his time to serving underserved populations both locally and globally. He worked on malaria prevention and food security projects while in the U.S Peace Corps in Zambia, and on medical, educational, and public health projects in Kenya and Dominica. Dr. Diab is the founder of Light on Lives, a multi-media advocacy project that uses video production and photography to advocate for environmental and social justice in communities around the world. His medical career is focused primarily on addressing health disparities through direct outreach—meeting people where they are—to promote empowerment and equity through health and wellness. In southern California, he is focused on medical service to unsheltered individuals and families, asylum seekers, refugees, migrant farmers, and victims of human trafficking.

Danille Richardson, MD
SoCal Street Medicine Provider
Dr. Richardson is a family medicine physician. She lives and works just miles from the San Diego/Tijuana border and dedicates much of her time to serving the border population of Southern California. She understands that health and wellness are directly impacted by one's ability to access safe sleeping, food, housing and hygiene, and that the current medical system does not meet the needs of many people, including those with housing insecurity. Dr. Richardson’s passion extends beyond the role of a physician; she is a proud activist and believes that a strong community has the power to nurture, protect, and provide for each other. She wants to see her community thrive and focuses on making sure the most vulnerable people have their basic needs met. She and her partner host the Imperial Beach Community Fridge and Garden. It is a safe space for unsheltered people to rest, recharge, eat and garden. The neighborhood comes together to compost, garden, grow pollinator flowers, and stock the fridge.

Nicole Papworth-Jones, PA
SoCal Street Medicine Provider
Nicole is originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She attended the Duke University Physician Assistant program in Durham, NC. She then relocated to New York City, becoming a PA in Ophthalmology in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine Cornell. In her role, she supported physicians in the operating room, emergency department, and in-clinic. Additionally, she gained diverse experiences, including multiple medical missions to Tanzania, eye care for the New York Rangers hockey team, and co-managing the Kress Vision Program (free eye care, medicine, and surgery for uninsured individuals). During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was redeployed to Weill Cornell Hospital, working in Internal Medicine, caring for individuals hospitalized with severe COVID-19. In 2022, Nicole and her family relocated to Vancouver, Canada, and then recently settled in San Diego. She is grateful to have joined the SoCal Street Medicine team and to work with a group of individuals constantly striving to improve patient care.

Deirdre Davis, MD
SoCal Street Medicine Provider
Dr. Davis is a family medicine physician whose passion is in treating the underserved. She completed medical school at Michigan State University and residency at Harbor UCLA during the height of the COVID pandemic. That is where she was formally introduced to community medicine and street medicine. During residency, she helped to reopen a large scale food pharmacy during the pandemic. She also rotated through the Century Regional Detention Center providing compassionate and evidence based medical care to inmates, and at Homeboy Industries removing tattoos from former gang members. She later worked with street medicine groups in Venice Beach and Skid Row while also learning the critical importance of harm reduction. Her goals are to provide compassionate, high quality medical care to her patients and to treat every patient with the kindness, empathy and respect that they deserve.

Jordan Searls
Enhanced Care Management Supervisor
Jordan is a local activist, humanitarian, photographer, and musician. Jordan has done work at the southern border providing humanitarian aid to asylum seekers held in open air detention sites by CBP, providing food, shelter, warm clothes, blankets, basic medical attention, and mobile power charging stations. They went on to work with Al Otro Lado as a Humanitarian Aid Coordinator in the Jacumba desert where they served as the organizations designated liaison and lead for receiving and coordinating the care of asylum seekers. Jordan also has experience working as an Outreach Specialist with PATH, providing case management to our unsheltered community at encampments around San Diego, providing services such as food, hygiene kits, harm reduction, documents, referrals for medical treatment and transportation, and assisting them in finding and securing housing. Jordan is currently serves as SoCal Street Medicine's ECM/CS Supervisor supervising a team working to help our patients connect to essential community resources and housing .

Katayoon Marzban
Program Manager
As a volunteer with SoCal Street Medicine, Katayoon Marzban is dedicated to advancing the organization’s mission to provide compassionate, comprehensive healthcare directly to individuals experiencing homelessness. Her passion for health equity also drives her work with Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT), where she helps deliver care to those most in need near the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition to her volunteer efforts, Katayoon conducts research at The Scripps Research Institute and is working toward a career in medicine, with the goal of continuing to serve vulnerable communities. Outside of her academic and clinical interests, Katayoon enjoys reading, painting, and practicing yoga as part of her personal wellness and creative expression.