Fred Meyers begins term as Chair of City Year Sacramento Board
(SACRAMENTO)
Fred Meyers, M.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine/Hematology-Oncology at UC Davis School of Medicine, has begun his term as Board Chair for City Year Sacramento (CYSac). CYSac, an AmeriCorps education non-profit, recruits young adults for a year of service as Student Success Coaches (SSCs) in under-resourced schools within the Oak Park and South Sacramento areas of the Sacramento City Unified School District.
"My passion for City Year Sacramento stems from its mission to embrace education as the surest path to good health for individuals and our communities," said Fred Meyers.
City Year Sacramento is committed to a dual mission with impactful outcomes. First, CYSac aims to advance educational equity by serving students furthest from opportunity, and second, to support and develop diverse young leaders through national service. By recruiting and training 18–25-year-olds to serve as near-peer mentors in the schools with the highest need, they can provide additional student attention and support and jump-start their career development through hands-on training and coaching in a school environment.
The results are transformative, with 63% of students who started the year with a D or F ending with a C or better in their English course. Equally significant, a research study from Johns Hopkins University on City Year’s holistic approach has found that the more time a student spends with City Year SSCs, the better that student’s outcomes – academically, socially, emotionally, and in terms of attendance. CYSac also serves as an exceptional workforce development platform. This year, nearly 50 SSCs will be placed in schools, gaining valuable career experience, with many of them going on to work in education, nonprofits, health care, government, and social work.
Meyers brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the board. He has a longstanding interest in cancer research and palliative care, having founded one of the first palliative care centers in the country in the 1980s. At UC Davis, his leadership includes 12 years as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and seven years as Vice Dean at UCD SOM.
A strong advocate for the career development of junior scholars, Meyers has significantly contributed to nurturing the next generation of medical professionals. As Associate Director for Education, Training, and Career Development at the UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center, he has extended development opportunities from high school students to early-career faculty. In 2018, he founded the UCD SOM Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors program to cultivate diverse, team-oriented, community-focused physician-scientists.
City Year Sacramento is led by Macey Amissah-McKinney, a founding CYSac Student Success Coach. Macey's lived experience exemplifies the community-engaged, dynamic leadership that propels our organization on its exciting trajectory of success. Last year, she was recognized with the national City Year Alumni Impact award and an honoree of the Sacramento Business Journal 40 Under 40. From SSC to Executive Director, Macey is a prime example of the organization's workforce development success.
