John Maa is a practicing surgeon in San Francisco, who graduated from Harvard Medical School and served as a captain in the U.S. Army for nine years. He has spent several  years working on Capitol Hill and with the California Legislature advocating for healthcare reform, and in 2012 personally launched a recount of the Proposition 29 tobacco tax bill, which was the first statewide recount in California history. He was recognized by the American College of Surgeons in 2013 with the Arthur Ellenberger National Award for Excellence in State Advocacy, and in 2016 by the American Heart Association as the Physician of the Year for the Western States Affiliate.