Pacific College Taps Physician and Healthcare Leader Dr. Ramin Baschshi to Guide Its Next Chapter
New President Pairs 25+ Years in Medicine and Nonprofit Leadership With a People-First Approach to Preparing California's Next Generation of Nurses
COSTA MESA, Calif., October 22, 2026--Pacific College, a Southern California nursing school that has prepared healthcare professionals since 1993, today announced that its Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Ramin Baschshi as president. With her appointment, a physician who has seen healthcare from the bedside, the boardroom and the heart of the community now leads the college into a new era. For more than 25 years, Dr. Baschshi has cared for patients, led a nonprofit serving children with disabilities and their families and helped govern Westcliff University, Pacific College's new parent institution. She arrives with an approach defined by listening, open communication, collaboration and service.
That rare breadth is what makes Dr. Baschshi the right fit for this moment. Her path includes serving as Vice President of physician and strategic operations at St. Mary Medical Center and Chief Operating Officer of Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles. As President and CEO of Unlimited Possibilities from 2018 to 2025, she ran an Orange County nonprofit serving thousands of children with developmental disabilities and their families each year, growing its finances by about 65%, doubling its service capacity and opening a state-of-the-art pediatric therapy center. Following the organization's 2025 integration into Rady Children's Health of Orange County, she became Vice President of Restorative Care and Community Support Services. She also knows Westcliff well from her service on its Board of Trustees and from years of partnership between the university and Unlimited Possibilities on initiatives like the annual iCan Bike Camp. As Pacific College begins its first year as part of Westcliff, few leaders are better prepared to guide the path forward.
"Pacific College's mission of service and education immediately resonated with me because those values have guided my entire career," said Dr. Baschshi. "What I have found here is a community of people who care deeply about one another and truly want to see each other succeed. My first priority is to listen, to get to know our faculty and staff, understand the institutional culture and learn what motivates the people who have dedicated themselves to this school."
Dr. Baschshi takes the helm at a pivotal moment for California's healthcare workforce. The state will need more than 61,000 additional registered nurses by 2033 to meet demand, according to the California Department of Health Care Access and Information. For 33 years, Pacific College has helped answer that call. Its experienced faculty and staff, longstanding healthcare partnerships and established alumni community position it to do even more with her leading the way.