Congratulations to Our 2012 Heroes!

Richard Coughlin, MD, MScPH

R. Richard Coughlin graduated with honors with a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Maryland in 1974. He completed his medical school graduating Magna Cum Laude at the Universidad Centrale De Caribe Puerto Rico in 1981 and completed his orthopaedic residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City in 1986. In 1993, Dr. Coughlin joined the full time faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, with a clinical position at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. Dr. Coughlin has been distinguished with the Teacher of the Year Award in 1997 and 2003 for Outstanding Dedication to Resident Education. In 2004, Dr. Coughlin received a Masters in Public Health for Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 2006, Dr. Coughlin founded the Institute for Global Orthopaedics and Traumatology (IGOT). Dr. Coughlin is Chairman Emeritus of Orthopaedics Overseas. In 2006 Dr. Coughlin was honored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons with the Humanitarian Award.

Harlan L. Kelly, Jr.

Harlan L. Kelly, Jr. is the Assistant General Manager, Infrastructure of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), and the driving force behind an innovative youth program he co-founded, Project Pull, sponsored by the City and County of San Francisco through the SFPUC and the Department of Public Works (DPW). Now in its 17th year, Project Pull provides professional mentoring to diverse, highly motivated high school students in San Francisco. Kelly had a 28-year career as a civil engineer. In his present capacity, he oversees the implementation of capital programs for water, sewer, and power, including the $4.6 billion rebuild of the Hetch Hetchy Water System. He was formerly the City Engineer of San Francisco. He has also held functional and project management positions at DPW, including Acting General Manager and Deputy Director of Engineering. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and resides in San Francisco with his wife Naomi and their two young sons.

Martha Ryan

Martha Ryan's journey to creating the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) began in the early '80s. After a 10-year stint as an ICU nurse at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Ryan returned to Africa, where she had been a teacher for the Peace Corps years before. In Somalia and the Sudan, Ryan worked in refugee camps where she created a Community Health Outreach Program, a program she would later replicate at HPP. Upon returning to the U.S., Ryan volunteered at St. Anthony's Medical Clinic before pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1989, Ryan founded HPP to provide free prenatal care to at-risk pregnant women. In that first year, Ryan provided prenatal care to 72 women. Twenty-two years later, HPP is a bustling family resource center with a 64 person staff (many are former clients) that serves 3,500 families annually. Because of Ryan's inspiring vision and dedication, HPP has helped thousands of families break the cycle of childhood poverty.

Marlene Tran

For over 25 years, Marlene Tran has been working tirelessly as an advocate on many quality of life issues in San Francisco's Southeast sector. A resident of Visitacion Valley and a retired teacher of over 35 years at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco Unified School District, she understands the challenges many families face in the City's Southeast neighborhoods. Persistent in safety efforts, Tran formed the Visitacion Valley Asian Alliance (VVAA), which was especially helpful to non-limited English speaking residents. She initiated petitions and surveys to lobby for many resources and services for the community. Tran's multilingual skills helped bridge communications at neighborhood meetings, the San Francisco Police Department, city departments, the courts, hospitals and schools. Currently, Tran is a member of the Ingleside Police Advisory, the Asian Pacific Islander Police Forum and she also attends the Bayview Police meetings. Tran's ongoing grassroots involvement in community safety, educational and youth programs, job training, MUNI services, parks and minority language access have earned residents' respect, media recognition and honors.