Dr. Cruz Whitley joined Balboa Nephrology in January 2023.  She attended medical school at the University of California San Diego where she was a part of the Program in Medical Education with a focus on Health Equity (PRIME-HEq). Dr. Whitley completed an internal medicine residency in the primary care track at the University California Davis. She completed nephrology fellowship training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital Joint Nephrology Program where she received the program’s inaugural Humanism in Medicine Award.

Dr. Whitley went on to complete palliative care training at the Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship Program. She is interested in integrating palliative care and nephrology with a focus on advanced care planning, shared decision making and supportive care of kidney patients, as well as increasing access to palliative medicine to underserved communities.

She is a native San Diegan and is happy to return to her hometown.