Tamar Besson, FNP, MSN, MPH
Tamar is a Masters-prepared Family Nurse Practitioner with a focus on adolescent medicine and reproductive health care. She has been committed to working with youth and the underserved communities for more than 35 years. She has been a Nurse Practitioner at Sequoia Teen Wellness Center for over 20 years, and at San Francisco’s STD clinic for more than 10.
Tamar started out as a Health Educator for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic working with youth groups and women’s organizations. She was later hired by Peace Corps as the Health Technical Trainer for other countries. She went on to get her master’s in public health from Yale University. Upon completion of that program, she became the Periniatal Department Director in a local community health clinic. Feeling the draw to do clinical work, she enrolled in University of California, San Francisco for her master’s in nursing.
After becoming a Nurse Practitioner, she specialized in adolescent medicine, with a focus on reproductive health. At New York Presbyterian Hospital, she was the Assistant Medical Director for School Based Health Clinics in Washington Heights and Harlem, overseeing the comprehensive health programs in 6 school based clinics. Currently, she is the Senior Nurse Practitioner at Sequoia Teen Wellness Center. Although she adores her clinical work, she continues to be committed to public health work and working directly with communities. She initiated outreach reproductive health clinics in Sequoia Union High Schools, as well as started the Sequoia Teen Wellness Center / Health Connected Youth Advisory Board. She recently served as a CDC STD clinical/technical consultant for the Micronesia Health Department.
As a Certified Health Education Specialist with years of experience as a Health Educator/Trainer, as well as an adolescent medicine provider with an expertise in reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, Tamar is excited and honored to be able to serve on the Health-Connected Medical Advisory Council.