Erica Givens, MD

Mentoring Tomorrow’s Healers

“This is not a clock-in, clock-out job. This is a calling — a life’s work.” Erica Lane Givens Beckerman, MD, speaks with the quiet conviction of someone who has walked alongside struggle and chosen to stay. For eight years, she has served as an OB/GYN at Adventist Health White Memorial, and in every word, you hear a deep, abiding love for the community she cares for. 

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Givens trained at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she first discovered her calling. “The patients I worked with were often first-generation Americans, low-income, navigating incredible barriers just to get in the door. And yet, they opened their lives to me. I found what my heart was looking for.” 

When she moved to Los Angeles after residency, it wasn’t just any hospital that would do. She was searching for a place where she could teach, empower, and continue learning, and where her passion for justice and education could meet in practice. She found that at Adventist Health White Memorial. 

“I love teaching. I love helping women understand their own bodies, especially in communities where these topics are still taboo, misunderstood, or overlooked,” she says. “When a woman hears she has an abnormal pap, she may immediately think of cancer. My job is to meet her in that fear and guide her toward clarity. It’s not just medical, it’s deeply human.” 

Dr. Givens is not shy about the challenges. The clinic is full. Wait times are long. Patients sometimes wait three months for an appointment. “I want my patients to be treated like royalty, like any woman would be in Beverly Hills,” she says. “But the truth is, we need more staff. More hands. More support.” 

Despite the daily grind, she finds inspiration in her patients and in the residents she mentors. “Our residency program is never stagnant. It’s always evolving, always asking how we can be better. That gives me hope… It transforms you.” 

That transformation is what she wants future doctors to understand. “You don’t come to this job to get something from it. You submit to it. You allow it to change you. It’s hard. But it’s beautiful.” 

Dr. Givens gets emotional when she talks about the neighborhood she serves. “I see mothers walking their kids to school, holding hands, pushing strollers. These are people who have faced discrimination, poverty, yet they care deeply for their families. They are working so hard. Why would they deserve anything less than the best care?… Everyone deserves to be treated like royalty, regardless of their zip code.” 

Philanthropy, for her, isn’t abstract. It’s dignity. It’s equity. It’s seeing those mothers and saying, “You matter.” 

To her, investing in medical education is a critical part of that mission. “We need more doctors who are rooted in the community, who understand the lived realities of their patients, who choose this path because they see it as their life’s work.” 

Dr. Erica Givens is doing more than delivering babies; she is helping deliver a new generation of compassionate, community-driven physicians. 

Help us continue shaping the next generation of OB/GYN physicians who serve where the need is greatest. By investing in our residency program, you are investing in equitable, high-quality care for women and families in underserved communities. 

Donate to our Residency Program today and be part of our mission to heal, teach, and transform lives.

The OB/GYN Residency Program at Adventist Health White Memorial offers a robust, firsthand training experience with exceptionally high volumes — averaging more than 4,100 deliveries and 4,600 surgeries annually — providing residents with exposure to a wide range of cases, including complex cancer care, advanced reproductive health, and comprehensive surgical procedures. Rooted in a mission-driven approach, the program emphasizes treating each patient as a whole person, integrating compassionate care with clinical excellence. Residents graduate as capable, confident physicians, well-prepared to serve diverse and underserved communities with skill and empathy. 

Learn more about our OB/GYN Medical Residency Program.