Meet Dr. Neha Gupta (Deputy Director at US Department of Veteran Affairs)

About Dr. Neha Gupta:

Dr. Neha Gupta is the Deputy Director of the Clinical Resource Hub at the Veterans Health Administration, where she leads telehealth services for veterans across the Western U.S. She lives in Oakland with her husband and two little kids, and before working at the VA, she was a doctor at Highland Hospital, serving the local community. She went to Stanford for college, med school, and residency, and while she’s super accomplished in medicine and leadership, what stood out is how much she cares about people—whether it’s her patients, her kids, or underserved communities.

What was most fun about this conversation:

It was fun hearing about her consulting days when she used to fly around the world meeting Fortune 500 CEOs, and how she realized it wasn’t for her after watching her dad help a sick teenager in just a short visit. Also, I liked her stories about growing up going to long pujas that she found boring, but now she actually misses them. That flip from “ugh” to nostalgia felt relatable. And it was funny when she said she learned the story of Holi only after buying a kids’ book for her daughter. Even adults are still learning.

What I was inspired by:

I was inspired by how she chose medicine not because of family pressure but because she genuinely wanted to help people. She said she didn’t want to apply to med school until she “had something to say” in her personal statement, which I thought was such a cool mindset. Also, her intentionality in parenting stood out—how she’s trying so hard to teach her kids about Indian gods, stories, and traditions, even though it takes a lot of effort. It showed me that cultural connection isn’t automatic; it’s something you have to build and pass down on purpose.

What many of us Americans can relate with:

Honestly, so much. Being undecided in college, taking random classes that seem interesting, feeling lost about what career to pick, and having moments where you realize what truly matters to you. Also, how she talked about juggling work and kids and feeling tired but fulfilled. And her memories of growing up in a mostly white area with a close-knit Indian community reminded me that a lot of us live in these overlapping worlds, where your neighbors and your family friends look totally different from each other, but both shape who you are.

What I will think more about:

I’ll think more about what she said regarding resisting medicine just because people expected it from her, and how that’s just as silly as doing something only because people expect it. That hit hard. Also, what she said about reading books really stuck with me. Her grandfather used to cut out magazine articles for different family members to read, and she said in Hindu culture, books are treated with so much respect that you’d never even touch them with your feet. It showed me how even tiny things, like the way you treat books, can carry deep cultural meaning that outsiders might not even know exists. Discovering stuff like that makes exploring other cultures (and learning more about your own culture) feel so rich and eye-opening.

Putting it in context:

This conversation highlighted themes we’ve encountered before, like embracing both Indian and American sides of yourself and figuring out what “success” really means. But it also brought in new ideas, like how being intentional about passing down culture isn’t just about language or food, but about storytelling, traditions, and little rituals that create belonging. Compared to other conversations I’ve had, this one felt more focused on parenting and intergenerational legacy—how each generation has to decide what they want to preserve, adapt, or let go of. It reminded me that while career achievements are