Dr. Aaliyah Frederick, a pediatric neurologist at Rady Children’s Hospital, is part of the 2% of Black women physicians in the country. Outside of her demanding medical career, Dr. Frederick is also a pageant titleholder and a passionate advocate for representation.
This advocacy shines through as she uses her role as the recently crowned Ms. Black California USA 2026 to champion diversity and inclusion within both medicine and the broader community.
Dr. Frederick told CBS 8, “I often see little girls when they come into the clinic, their faces light up,” she said.
She campaigns for youth through her platform, which includes a mentoring program she created at Rady Children’s Hospital. This program pairs young community members with healthcare professionals at the hospital.
“We want to give them that early experience opportunity to start thinking about that, because that kind of sets that seed in their mind that maybe this is something for me,” Dr. Frederick said.
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The outlet described her as an exceptionally approachable and authentic person, genuinely and wholeheartedly committed to dismantling systemic barriers as a Black female physician.
“I’m a normal person. I have a family, hobbies, plenty of things I enjoy outside of medicine,” she remarked.
Her college-age daughter, however, recognized a potential that extended beyond her medical profession.
“One day she said, ‘Mom, why don’t you do a pageant?’ I didn’t have any reason to say no,” Dr. Frederick recounted.
So, in her mid-30s, Frederick traveled to Los Angeles to compete in a beauty pageant. She won her first major pageant in 2019, despite the surprisingly modest preparation of wearing a dress she had simply bought from Amazon.
Dr. Frederick stressed that pageantry is about more than just physical beauty. She explained, “It’s really not about the crown. It’s about the journey.”
“It’s about doing the things you love, being a good person all the time, being of service to others, creating that portfolio of things you’re just generally doing,” she said.
Despite facing ups and downs, her achievements far outweigh her difficulties. She has earned many state, national, and international awards, including her most recent title.
The San Marcos resident has now set her sights on the Ms. Black USA national title in August.
“Everyone there is going to be black excellence. You really have to bring those other things that make you unique and special,” she said.
According to her Rady Children’s Health portfolio, she earned an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, participating in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program.
She then joined Vanderbilt University’s Medical Scientist Training Program, where she simultaneously completed her medical degree and a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Her doctoral research was supported by an NIH National Research Service Award Fellowship.
She completed her residency in child neurology at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology. She holds a special qualification in child neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology.
Dr. Frederick is professionally affiliated with the American Headache Society, the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, and the Child Neurology Society.
She also holds positions as an associate editor in epilepsy for the editorial board of Child Neurology Open and is a member of the UC San Diego Health Sciences Task Force on Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
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