Official Blog | UCGPC

Margaret Akey, B.S., is an M.D. candidate at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and serves as the External Vice President representing all professional schools at UCSF for the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) for the 2025–2026 academic year. She brings deep experience in leadership, advocacy, and a strong understanding of the unique needs of professional students to the UCGPC Board.

Prior to stepping into this role, Margaret was elected as her class’ representative for two years in the Associated Students of the School of Medicine (ASSM), the UCSF School of Medicine’s student government, and was most recently elected as one of ASSM’s co-presidents. In parallel with her leadership within ASSM, she serves as External Vice President within UCGPC and has been a vocal advocate for expanding and strengthening professional student representation across the UC system.

Margaret grew up in Westminster, Maryland, where she lived on her family’s sheep farm. She flew across the country in 2018 to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she earned a B.S. in Neuroscience. During her undergraduate years, she worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with UCLA Emergency Medical Services, a 24/7, 9-1-1 emergency ambulance serving the UCLA community. She provided frontline care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, working throughout summers and holidays to support her community during an unprecedented public health crisis.

It was through her work as an EMT that Margaret witnessed firsthand the mental health challenges facing college students, including emergencies related to panic attacks, self-harm, and suicide attempts. These experiences, combined with her academic training in neuroscience, sparked a lasting commitment to mental health advocacy. Following graduation, she worked as a research assistant and phlebotomist with the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge on the Digital Mental Health Study and volunteered as a Suicide Prevention Counselor at the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center in Los Angeles.

Upon matriculating at UCSF, Margaret became deeply involved in student government. She was elected as an ASSM class representative for two consecutive years and was most recently elected as one of ASSM’s co-presidents. In this role, she has helped build strong trust between students and administration, navigated complex challenges related to class scheduling and curriculum changes, and advocated for increased transparency. She has also prioritized community building, leading large-scale class events to strengthen student connections and foster interclass mentorship.

In June 2025, Margaret was elected to serve UCGPC as External Vice President representing all professional schools at UCSF. In this role, she represents professional students within UCSF’s student government and on the UCGPC Board. One of her most notable achievements has been the successful passage of a UCGPC bylaws amendment granting full voting rights and director status to UC campuses that choose to appoint both a graduate and a professional student representative.

Margaret has served on the UCGPC Healthcare Committee, where she is working to improve UCSHIP across UC campuses, with a particular focus on ensuring coverage for gender-affirming care amid rising transphobia nationwide. She has also served on the Immigrant and Undocumented International Student Protections Committee, advocating for students impacted by restrictive immigration policies during the Trump administration. A major highlight of this work was supporting advocacy for California Senate Bill 98, signed into law by Governor Newsom in September 2025, which requires public universities to notify students and staff when immigration enforcement is present on campus.

Margaret’s work with UCGPC complements her broader commitments in medical education and global health. She leads a research team investigating how to better support LGBTQ+ students in medical school. She is also leading a project at the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) aimed at advancing equity in global health within academic medical centers in California. She plans to continue this work throughout her medical career.

Margaret intends to apply to anesthesiology residency programs in the fall of 2026, with the goal of specializing in critical care and practicing as an academic anesthesiologist and intensivist.

Through her service on the UCGPC Board, Margaret is a pillar of leadership and community, strengthening partnerships between professional students and the UC system and ensuring that professional student voices are heard. Her experience in student mental health, sustained student government leadership, and commitment to inclusion and equity make her a highly effective advocate for graduate and professional students across the University of California system.