Dr. Alicia Bazzano
provides strategic oversight of health activities around the world to ensure public funding, policies, medical training programs, and health service delivery are inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities.
Dr. Bazzano is a pediatrician and public health executive who has dedicated her career to improving the health of people with intellectual disabilities. Prior to joining Special Olympics in 2019, she previously served as Senior Medical Director for Health Policy at Acumen, LLC and Chief Physician at the Westside Regional Center in Los Angeles, which serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Bazzano was deeply involved in the founding of the Achievable Health Center, a first-of-its-kind federally qualified health center dedicated to developmental disabilities, and served as founding Co-Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Bazzano is a faculty member of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and she previously served as Clinical Director for Health Promotion at Special Olympics Healthy Athletes in Southern California.
Dr. Bazzano completed medical school and pediatric residency at UCLA and was a UCLA Clinical Scholar, selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She also completed her Master’s Degree in Public Health and her doctorate degree in the Department of Health Policy and Management at UCLA. Dr. Bazzano has been appointed to several state and national executive boards, including the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry and served as a Healthcare Leadership Fellow with the California Health Care Foundation.
Dustin Plunkett
is an athlete and athlete leader who served as spokesman and
Global Messenger
for the 2015 World Games as well as on-air broadcaster for ESPN in 2015 and 2017!
Born with an intellectual disability and a cleft palate, which left him with slurred and stuttered speech, Dustin found it difficult to make friends with other kid. His struggles came with the additional burden of an unstable home life; moving often from home to home and family member to family member.
In 1996, Dustin joined Special Olympics Southern California and forged a new set of family bonds.
“Special Olympics athletes are like my brothers and sisters and the staff and volunteers are like my parents and they guide me along the way in my life.”
Dustin is active in the community and works with teens with and without disabilities in a social, educational, mentoring and athletics program at the Lakewood Recreation Center in SoCal. He also coaches and teaches basic sports skills to children ages 3-5.
Most recently, he served as spokesman and member of the Board of Directors for the LA2015 World Games--and of course on-air broadcaster during ESPN's coverage of both the 2015 World Summer Games and the 2017 World Winter Games!
