Year 2 Resident
Ella (Kuchmiy) Johnson, DO
Dr. Ella (Kuchmiy) Johnson, DO earned her undergraduate degree in Environmental Health from the University of Washington before earning her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. As an undergraduate, she conducted research with Dr. Marilyn Roberts in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, focusing on antibiotic resistance genes, sparking a lasting interest in occupational and environmental medicine.
She completed her Family Medicine Residency at In His Image in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she pursued broad-spectrum family medicine, caring for patients across all stages of life. Her training included office procedures, obstetrics, inpatient medicine, and comprehensive primary care. Throughout medical school and residency, she also participated in international medical missions, reflecting her longstanding commitment to serving underserved communities both locally and globally.
Following residency, Dr. Johnson practiced as a hospitalist at a hospital that has since become a Level I Trauma Center. She later transitioned to roles that allowed her to devote more time to community service and global outreach. She served patients at a free clinic, providing medical care to individuals with limited access to healthcare, while also serving as Adjunct Clinical Faculty for the In His Image Family Medicine Residency, where she mentored residents and advocated for vulnerable patient populations.
Her passion for occupational and environmental medicine continued throughout her career. Building on her undergraduate training and an elective at the University of Washington during her family medicine residency, she has now joined the University of Washington Occupational and Environmental Medicine training program. Her professional interests include exposure-informed care, workplace health, environmental exposures, and integrating these principles into clinical practice, including implementation within the Veterans Health Administration and other healthcare settings.
Dr. Johnson continues to practice hospital medicine at times while remaining committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based, whole-person care.
Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the outdoors, especially near the water, discovering great food, serving in her local community, attending church, listening to music, sermons, and podcasts, and occasionally singing.
YEAR 1 REsidents
Thomas Haycraft, MD
Dr. Haycraft was inspired to pursue medicine by observing the work of his parents who were both long time Family Practice Physicians throughout his childhood. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN. Dr. Haycraft then completed his medical degree at USUHS F Edward Hebert School of Medicine, joining the United States Air Force. He completed immediate post graduate medical training at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base and then practiced for an additional 7 years within military medicine, working in emergency medicine, flight and operational medicine, and primary care positions.
During his military time Dr. Haycraft became interested in worker health and preventive medicine during his military service, joining the University of Washington Occupational and Environmental Health training program.
Dr. Haycraft's interests include veterans’ health and exposures, and workplace safety. Outside of work he enjoys reading, hiking, tennis and following sports.
Rafael Mendoza, MD
Dr. Rafael Mendoza is excited to join the University of Washington’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine residency program. He earned his medical degree from Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil in Ecuador, and his path to occupational medicine has taken him through surgery, clinical research, healthcare administration, and maritime medicine.
His clinical experience includes a surgical internship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and clinical research on wound healing at Northwestern University. During medical school, he also served in leadership roles with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, where he led public health and preventive medicine initiatives. Some of his most meaningful early experiences came through medical missions serving rural and underserved communities across Ecuador.
He later worked as a senior doctor and environmental officer aboard cruise ships in the Galápagos Islands. Working in a remote maritime environment gave him a firsthand view of how health is shaped not only by medical care, but also by working conditions, prevention, organizational systems, and the surrounding environment. This combination of clinical medicine and public health ultimately drew him to occupational and environmental medicine. Dr. Mendoza's specific interests include maritime medicine, worker health, injury prevention, and environmental exposures.
Dr. Mendoza recently relocated to Seattle from South Florida and looks forward to learning from the UW community and caring for workers and communities throughout Seattle.
Outside of medicine, he enjoys cooking, watching soccer, traveling, spending time outdoors, and exploring Seattle’s farmers markets and restaurants.