Fresh out of Roseburg High School in 1998 and volunteering with relief workers in Nicaragua amid the devastation wrought by Hurricane Mitch, John Roth decided on a career in medicine.
Fluent in Spanish, he worked as a medical interpreter for health care teams dispatched by Mercy Ships, a global nondenominational Christian charity. "I was the voice between the doctors and the people, and I had to be very aware of how they interacted," Roth recalls. That role inspired him to become a physician assistant -- a profession with growing responsibilities in a health system facing the dual challenge of expanding access while containing costs. ... Roth graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in public health and international studies.
