Lillie Hudson, MSPA, MPH, PA-C, has served her profession and the community of Los Angeles, CA as a physician assistant, an educator, and a researcher.
Hudson is a native of Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from King-Drew Medical Magnet High School in 1992, adjacent to the Watts-Willowbrook community in Los Angeles, CA. She knew from an early age that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but she didn’t see her path to becoming a PA until her college years.
Hudson graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1997 with a Bachelor of Art in Black Studies. It was during a 1996 summer medical school prep program that she was introduced to the PA profession. The person teaching the course was none other than a phenomenal PA and now valued mentor, Lisa Landry-Taylor, MS, PA. The choice medical career for Hudson soon became PA and she received her Master of Science in PA Studies from the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA in 2002. She continued her education in pursuit of a better understanding of the social determinants of health in order to combat health inequities. In 2008, she earned her Master of Public Health with an emphasis in urban health disparities from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, CA. Hudson is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership with a focus on Leading Instructional Change from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA. This degree will equip her to advance medical educational equity and disrupt the systems that perpetuate injustices in health care delivery. Her anticipated graduation is summer 2025.
After graduating from Western University with her PA degree, she began work as a primary care practitioner at South Bay Family Health Care Center (Inglewood, CA) a federally qualified healthcare center that cares for the most vulnerable communities (2003-2010). In 2004 she began to work concurrently in urgent care at Pioneer Medical Group (Long Beach, CA) until 2006. From 2010 to 2015, she practiced in neurology, stroke specific at Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, Rancho Research Institute, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, CA. She practiced family medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Gardena, CA (2016-2017) before switching to public health and wellness at the AIDS Health Foundation (2016-2020) in Hollywood/Los Angeles, CA.
Hudson’s passion for PA education was solidified after being only 1 of 2 PAs invited in the group of ninety scholars to attend the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, 3rd Annual Translational Health Disparities Course, in Bethesda, Maryland, in August 2013. During this 2-week intensive training Hudson realized that she wanted to be a part of the solution and actively participate in training the next generation of compassionate PA clinicians that would expand health equity and challenge health disparities. One month later, Hudson began her introductory career as a PA educator in 2013 as a guest lecturer at the USC and a workshop preceptor at the Western University PA program. At USC, she became a workshop facilitator and an objective structured clinical examination proctor from 2014-2018. In 2018, Hudson became a part-time assistant professor at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and then full-time clinical instructor of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, USC in September 2019. In July 2022, Hudson was promoted to clinical assistant professor and currently serves in many roles including, the director of the Pre-PA Pathway and faculty advisor to the African-Heritage PA Student Interest Group. These 2 student led organizations, work to increase awareness of the PA profession in historically marginalized communities with the goal to diversify the profession and combat health care disparities.
Hudson has participated in several international medical mission service trips. She has traveled to Ghana, West Africa and the Dominican Republic.
Hudson is a member of the American Academy of PAs, the California Academy of PAs, the Physician Assistant Education Association, and the National Association of Medical Minority Educators. She is certified by the National Commission on Certification of PAs and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department as an HIV pre/posttest counselor.
She serves outside of her position as a PA educator in a variety of community roles, including active church member, student ministry leader, middle school Spanish tutor, and a 2022 Los Angeles Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgment of Institutional Racism (L.A. REPAIR) Steering committee member.
Acknowledgments: This biography was written by Michelle Schabowski with assistance from Lillie Hudson. It was submitted to the Society in July 2022. The photographs are courtesy of Ms. Hudson and Claire Norman of the Keck School of Medicine.
When using information from this biography, please provide the proper citation as described within the PA History Society Terms of Use.
