Akilah Faizah Weber (born July 2, 1978) is an American politician and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

serving in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

from the 79th district, which includes parts of eastern

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and all of La Mesa,

El Cajon El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

, Lemon Grove, and La Presa. She is the daughter of

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

Shirley Weber Shirley Weber (née Nash; born September 20, 1948) is an American academic and politician serving as the secretary of state of California. She was previously a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th Assembly District, which include ...

, whom she succeeded in the Assembly after winning a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Weber was born and raised in

Oak Park, San Diego Oak Park is an urban neighborhood of the Southeast region of San Diego, California. Geography The neighborhood's borders are defined by Euclid Avenue to the west, Chollas Parkway/Streamview Drive/College Avenue to the north, and State Route 94 t ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...

and a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

from the

University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and pat ...

Career

After graduating from medical school, Weber completed a residency at the

John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...

and a pediatric and adolescent gynecology fellowship at the

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is an academic pediatric acute care children's hospital located in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. The hospital has 652 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University of ...

. Weber is an

OBGYN Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and ...

Rady Children's Hospital Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego is the largest children's hospital in California and provides services to the San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties. The hospital has 524 beds and provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and sups ...

. In 2018, Weber was elected to the La Mesa City Council. Weber was elected to the Assembly in a special election on April 6, 2021, to fill the vacancy of her mother,

, who resigned to become the

Secretary of State of California The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

. She was subsequently sworn in on April 19, 2021.

References

External links

Join California Akilah Weber
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Akilah 1978 births 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American physicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women physicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American city council members in California African-American state legislators in California African-American women in politics African-American women physicians Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from La Mesa, California Physicians from California Politicians from San Diego University of Rochester alumni Women city councillors in California Women state legislators in California Xavier University of Louisiana alumni