Yolanda Fan MBA

Dr. Ignacio was born in the Philippines, and grew up in Honolulu.  She graduated from ‘Iolani School, and represented Hawai‘i in the America’s Junior Miss college scholarship competition, where she received the national award for academic distinction.  She was a National Merit Scholar, and she pursued her undergraduate training at Georgetown University in Washington DC, where she earned her B.S. degree in biology.  She continued at Georgetown for medical school, and earned her doctorate in medicine.

Subsequently, she did her orthopedic surgery residency at Georgetown, where she was the first woman accepted to the residency program in over 15 years, and only the third female accepted in its 50-year history.  During her residency, she assisted in laboratory research at the National Institutes of Health, and in her chief year, she was awarded by the Washington DC Orthopedic Society for her work in cartilage research.  She was also honored with an award for excellence in teaching, given by the Georgetown medical students.  While in DC, Dr. Ignacio was also thrilled to participate in the care of the Georgetown Hoyas, as well as the Washington Redskins.

Upon graduating from residency, Dr. Ignacio moved to the west coast, for fellowship training in sports medicine, and arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery at the Southern California Center for Sports Medicine in Long Beach, CA.  She was the first female in the fellowship’s history and upon completion of her fellowship, she was then invited to stay on and join the practice, and became the first female faculty member of the fellowship.  As faculty, she enjoyed lecturing and training other orthopedic surgeons on recent updated techniques on arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery.

While practicing in Long Beach, she served as the Team Physician for the Cal State Long Beach women’s and men’s volleyball teams, men’s and women’s basketball teams, and women’s soccer team, and serves as a Medical Consultant for the Cal State Long Beach Athletic Department.  She also served as a Team Physician for the Long Beach Ice Dogs professional hockey team, the farm team for the Montreal Canadians.  Dr. Ignacio has published numerous articles and chapters in orthopedic literature.  She was also chosen as one of three female surgeons featured in a season-long television show on the Women’s Entertainment (WE) channel and Discovery network in 2005.

In addition to being an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai‘i, she also serves as a Volunteer Physician and Orthopedic Consultant for the University of Hawai‘i Department of Athletics.  She is an elected officer of the Hawai‘i Orthopedic Association.  She was honored to be chosen as an Instructor at the prestigious international Masters Course in arthroscopy, for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Arthroscopy Association of North America.  She was selected as a Speaker on the panel of the Hawai‘i’s Wahine Forum.  She also has been voted by her peers as one of the Best Doctors in Honolulu, in Honolulu Magazine, and Pacific Business News.  

Community service and faith is also very important to Dr. Ignacio.  She serves as a Director on the Board of the Aloha Medical Mission and the Hawai‘i Community Leadership Board for the American Diabetes Association.  She is also a Director on the Boards for the‘Iolani Alumni Association, Positive Coaching Alliance Hawai‘i, the Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i, and serves on the Stewardship Committee for Central Union Church, and is a volunteer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and for HUGS (Help, Understanding, and Group Support), and was the Chair of HUGS’ 30th Anniversary Gala, which benefits children, and their families, who are faced with life-threatening illness.  Dr. Ignacio believes that serving others and giving back makes everyone better.