David F. Lehmann, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, is an internist and clinical pharmacologist at Upstate Medical University.

He has had substantial teaching roles in Upstate’s undergraduate and graduate medical education programs, as well as extensive service to academic leadership throughout his career at Upstate, including chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, chief of the Section of Clinical Pharmacology in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, chief of the Division of General Medicine, and vice chair of the Department of Medicine.

Internationally, Dr. Lehmann has served as a practicing physician in Saipan, hospital pharmacy director in Kenya, and educator and consultant in the development of pharmacology curricula in Nepal and India, in addition to volunteering his personal time on medical relief missions to Haiti, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Lehmann, a dynamic physician full of ingenuity and drive to work outside of the box, was spurred to this pursuit of street medicine through these experiences, and; thus, in 2018, he co-founded HouseCalls for the Homeless – Upstate, the 61st street medicine program in the nation, providing medical care to our sisters and brothers experiencing homelessness, directly on the street and in area shelters, of Onondaga County.

His focus is on the combined effort of two of his favorite passions: serving those living in homelessness, and by bringing medical students to the streets, teaching the next generation of medical providers how to be compassionate caregivers.

A degree in geography-anthropology did not lead Mia to a place of teaching, as her professors had suggested it would. It has, however, led her down pathways of engaging with people from all walks of life - from a women's craft cooperative in a poverty-stricken sector of Guatemala City, a neighborhood advocacy organization in Portland, ME, promoting its focus on educational programs as a pathway out of poverty, and housing stability to families struggling to maintain affordable housing, to working with detained immigrants and their families in Central New York.

These experiences led her to working side by side with Dr. David Lehmann. Each from their own experiences, recognized the parallel between the needs of people experiencing homelessness in other parts of the world, to those in our own "backyard".

Dr. Lehmann's straightforward approach and caring touch to unsheltered and medically underserved individuals, his enthusiasm for teaching, along with Mia's aptitude for building strong working relationships through community engagement as well as within our own Upstate departments, have been complementary cornerstones to the foundation of this program.

Olivia grew up in the City of Rochester with a strong understanding of what it means to have very little. Olivia and her five siblings had no easy upbringing, which she would later use as a platform to transformative change in her life.

After obtaining an associate's degree in veterinary technology and establishing her career, she had felt a deep desire to pursue something bigger. Olivia returned to school while raising her three small children with the intent of pursuing medical school. She received her bachelor's degree from Syracuse University, Cum Laude. However, this didn't end for her. In preparation for applying to medical school, she completed a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Science at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Throughout her years of education, she devoted much of her time serving the community as a volunteer. These experiences included a hospice family care giver, a volunteer tutor for disadvantaged college students, clinical support at various free clinics, and a volunteer for HouseCalls for the Homeless. Throughout her service is where she met Dr. Lehmann. Her love for the marginalized communities of Syracuse has been nurtured through her devotion to HouseCalls since 2020.

Olivia serves as the Program Coordinator for HouseCalls for the Homeless. She implements her ideas and vision to nurture the expansion and longevity of the program. She is also the co-chair for the program's committee, as well as a preceptor for research of opioid use disorder in Syracuse.

Hallie is a current MS3 student at Upstate. She hails from Rochester, NY and went to Binghamton University for her undergraduate studies. HouseCalls has always been a program that she wanted to join. She even talked about her interest in it during her Upstate medical school interview, and after arriving to Upstate it was the most important club for her to join. She loves HouseCalls because you are able to meet patients and care for them throughout multiple years. The most rewarding part for her has been seeing patients finally become housed.

She loves HouseCalls so much that she created a Street Medicine elective! Six students are able to join the class and volunteer for 12 uninterrupted weeks, receiving lectures from Upstate faculty and attending seminars with Dr. Lehmann. HouseCalls is a rewarding experience for everyone involved, and she has learned so much from being a part of it the last three years.