Health Care 2023: DR. SANDY L. CHUNG

Chung got hooked on medicine after a fourth-grade school project that called for her to represent a career. A neighbor who was a nurse helped her choose the profession, lending Chung a stethoscope and giving her shoe covers, a paper gown and tongue depressors.

“It was amazing!” recalls Chung, this year’s president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the national organization representing 67,000-plus pediatricians.

Since 2018, Chung has led Trusted Doctors, a large medical group serving Virginia and Maryland families for 50-plus years. She is also president and chair of Fairfax Pediatrics Associates and chair of Health Connect IPA and Hello Pediatrics.

Chung earned her medical degree from the University of Virginia and holds a master’s degree in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She co-chairs the Governor’s Taskforce on Primary Care and founded the Virginia Mental Health Access Program, also serving as its medical director.

PERSONAL MOTTO: Take charge of your mindset and focus only on what you can control.

FIRST JOB: Working in my parents’ Chinese restaurant in Richmond

SOMETHING I’D NEVER DO AGAIN: Leave my car in neutral on a boat ramp. Just FYI — cars do not float.