Monique Araya, M.D., F.A.A.P.

As Chief of Staff at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Monique Araya is a Board Certified pediatrician who grew up in Los Angeles where she attended Hillel Hebrew Academy and then Hamilton High School. She continued her education at UC Davis and at St. George’s University and did her Pediatric training at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Araya has been in private practice since 2001, spending the first few years in San Luis Obispo before moving back to Los Angeles to join The Pediatric Group in 2007. 

 Dr. Araya has a special interest in preventative care and in supporting parents in the parenting styles they have chosen. She is on numerous committees to help strengthen and improve our current medical environment. Dr. Araya has a true love of children and has worked with them all of her life – first as a babysitter, then camp counselor, and on to volunteer with pediatric hospital programs and as a volunteer camp doctor. She also is a mother of two incredible humans. She is an advocate for children and families, and has been very active in promoting physician wellness, diversity and inclusion in her community. 

 When not at work or traveling, you will find her outdoors, on foot or on horseback, in the mountains or at the beach with her two big dogs, Maggie and Buddha, at her side (and most often with a book-or two or three-on hand).