Meet Our Staff
ALISON Z. YOUNG, MD, PHD
Dr. Young is a board certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Dermatopathology.She has been recognized as one of Seattle’s Top Doctors by Seattle Magazine and Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. Dr Young enjoys all aspects of dermatology and is dedicated to providing comprehensive dermatologic care, including adult and pediatric general dermatology, skin cancer surgery, and cosmetic dermatology. She has a special interest in medical dermatology, dermatopathology and the early diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers.
Dr. Young completed her residency in dermatology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by a fellowship in dermatopathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned her MD from Weill Cornell Medical College and her PhD in molecular genetics and cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, after graduating from Douglass College, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as class valedictorian, with highest honors in biochemistry. She was elected to be a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa national honor society during her studies as an undergraduate at Douglass College.
Her PhD thesis focused on the study of Id proteins/transcription factors in regulating cellular growth and aging, cell death, differentiation, angiogenesis, and neoplastic transformation. With the development of knockout and transgenic models, her work contributed to the discovery of the biologic relevance of Id1 and Id3 genes and their expression during normal development, malignant transformation, and tumor progression. This work was published in Nature, the world’s most cited scientific journal, and reported in The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC News.
Dr. Young was born in Taiwan and grew up in Singapore where she attended Raffles Girls Secondary School (and she fondly remembers her house, Richardson) and Hwa Chong Junior College. She passed the Cambridge General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels examinations, prior to attending Douglass college.
When not taking care of patients, she enjoys being home with her husband and their three loving Havanese furry babies. She loves travelling and enjoys the opera and the dramatic arts.
Our Philosophy
“As I reflect, my real education began after my formal training in medical school, residency and fellowship. I am honored to be granted the privilege to be of service to my patients, who are among the best teachers I have ever had. I believe in old fashioned doctor-patient relationship based on sincerity, respect and trust. My patients are like family to me, and I want them to be treated as I would treat my own family. I greatly value our relationship. I am committed to offer personalized care, as each individual is unique and has specific concerns and needs. The quality of my patients’ care and experience is of utmost importance to me.”
Our Specialty
“It is an exciting time to be a dermatologist! With current advances in molecular genetics, immunology, clinical research and technology, we have an improved understanding of skin cancers and skin diseases. Not only do we have better diagnostic and prognostic tools, we are now able to offer novel and more effective treatment options for many skin conditions. It is my hope to be able to provide the best possible care, most suited for each patient, combining all available resources.”
“The skin is like a window through which we may have a glimpse of how the rest of the body functions. Many systemic and autoimmune diseases often first present as skin eruptions, giving us a clue with regard to concurrent involvement and damage of internal organs, which may sometimes be asymptomatic clinically. Early accurate diagnosis of the condition makes a difference in timely, effective treatment and prevention of serious, irreversible, long term sequelae.”

Madelline Ballena, Practice Manager
Madelline, also known as ‘Maddy’, has been a licensed Certified Medical Assistant for more than 16 years. She has experience as a medical assistant in general dermatology, dermatologic surgery, phototherapy (including photodynamic therapy and XTRAC excimer laser treatment), cosmetic dermatology (including injectables – Botox, fillers, Kybella, laser treatments with Pulsed dye (VBeam Prima®), Alexandrite (Clarity II®), KTP/Nd Yag (Derma-V®), Q-switched Nd Yag (Medlite® and Spectra ®), Picosecond Nd Yag (Picoway®), fractionated ablative CO2 (eCO2 Plus®) and fractionated non-ablative Thulium (Ultra®) resurfacing lasers, medical microneedling (Exceed®), radiofrequency microneedling (Genius®) and platelet rich plasma (Regen®) injections), Mohs micrographic surgery, as well as plastic and hand surgery. She is trained in HIPAA privacy rule compliance and is skilled in the use of electronic medical records. She has worked with several dermatologists in the Seattle area, and with Dr. Young for more than 15 years. During her previous employment as a lead medical assistant in the department of dermatology at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Maddy received leadership training in the kaizen/lean method of improving clinic flow. Subsequently, she has been working closely with Dr. Young, and served, first, as a clinic supervisor and then as an office manager, since 2017.
With an unwavering positive attitude, Maddy is highly motivated to learn new things, adapt to constant changes and challenges. She is diligent and responsible. She is a problem solver and demonstrates her leadership quality by her dedication to make her colleagues’ work easier. She has a warm and cheerful personality and a strong work ethic.
Maddy is a thoughtful and caring person, much adored by her family and friends. She is married to her high school sweetheart and best friend and she is the proud mother of their beautiful daughter. She has a creative soul and is gifted in handicrafts, graphic design, party planning. She loves spending time with her family and friends. She remembers everyone’s birthday and special occasions and never fails to celebrate with all of us.

Adam Espinoza, Patient Service Representative
Adam has been a medical receptionist in fast paced dermatology clinics in Seattle, for more than 5 years. He has extensive knowledge in medical insurance, HIPAA privacy rule, electronic medical records and scheduling general dermatology appointments as well as surgical and cosmetic procedures. He is an enthusiast in the best skin care and anti-aging strategies. In recent years, he has served as a lead receptionist and is involved in training new staff members. Adam is highly organized and skilled at multi-tasking. He is dedicated to ensuring that all patients have an over-the-top clinic experience. Always with a sunny attitude, Adam is charismatic, gregarious, perceptive and a good listener. He has the talent of making everyone around him feel at ease.
Adam enjoys traveling the world, learning about the diversity of life and different cultures and being outdoors. When he is not traveling, Adam spends quality time with his friends and family.

Judy Leyba, Certified Medical Assistant
Judy has been a licensed Certified Medical Assistant for more than 8 years. She has experience as a medical assistant in general dermatology, dermatologic surgery, phototherapy (including photodynamic therapy and XTRAC excimer laser treatment) and cosmetic dermatology (including injectables – Botox, fillers, Kybella, laser treatments with Pulsed dye (VBeam Prima®), Alexandrite (Clarity II®), Q-switched Nd Yag (Spectra ®), Picosecond Nd Yag (Picoway®) and fractionated non-ablative Thulium (Ultra®) resurfacing lasers, medical microneedling (Exceed®), radiofrequency microneedling (Genius®) and platelet rich plasma (Regen®) injections). She is trained in HIPAA privacy rule compliance and is skilled in the use of electronic medical records. She has worked with Dr Young for more than 7 years.
Judy has a pleasant and charming disposition. She is compassionate, attentive and sensitive to our patients’ comfort and needs. She strives to make every patient’s visit a positive and memorable experience.
Judy has a vivacious personality and an appetite for life. She is a foodie, likes to travel and has an interest in botany, specifically, collector house plants. Her dream is to travel around the world to discover and experience different cultures and cuisines. She married her longtime sweetheart and best friend. The newlyweds just welcomed their beautiful baby girl.

Zdzislaw Markiewicz, PhD, Business Manager
Dr Markiewicz, also known as ‘Zee’, is a retired Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, author of numerous publications and several books and book chapters. Besides his seminal research in understanding the structure and functions of the bacterial cell envelope and surface structure (“microdermatology”) as well as bacterial resistance to antibiotics, carried out in several countries, he studied Economics as part of his PhD training. During his tenure as a university professor, he served as the Dean of Finance and Foreign Exchange, with experience in managing finances, balancing program budgets in line with institutional requirements and reconciliation of accounts. With his financial acuity and attention to detail, Zee’s main role in our practice is planning, implementing, managing and controlling all finance related activities. In addition, because of his experience as the Head of the Institute of Microbiology and laboratory head, he has been instrumental in advising us of best laboratory practices as well as COVID-19 protective measures in our clinic, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state regulations.

Samantha Montgomery, Certified Medical Assistant
Samantha, also known as ‘Sam’, has been a licensed Certified Medical Assistant for more than 7 years. She has experience as a medical assistant in general dermatology, dermatologic surgery, phototherapy (including photodynamic therapy and XTRAC excimer laser treatment), cosmetic dermatology (including injectables – Botox, fillers, Kybella, laser treatments with Pulsed dye (VBeam Prima®), Alexandrite (Clarity II®), KTP/Nd Yag (DermaV®), Q-switched Nd Yag (Spectra ®), Picosecond Nd Yag (Picoway®), fractionated ablative CO2 (eCO2 Plus®) and fractionated non-ablative Thulium (Ultra®) resurfacing lasers, medical microneedling (Exceed®), radiofrequency microneedling (Genius®) and platelet rich plasma (Regen®) injections) and Mohs micrographic surgery. She is trained in HIPAA privacy rule compliance and is skilled in the use of electronic medical records. She has worked with Dr Young for more than 6 years.
As ensuring patient satisfaction is her priority, she is dedicated in providing excellent care to our patients. With keen observation skills and a quiet intelligence, coupled with a sense of humor, Sam has a calming effect on all those around her. Sam is quick to assimilate new knowledge and acquire new skills, with competence and confidence.
As a young mother, Sam is blessed with two beautiful daughters. Sharing new adventures and creating loving memories with their children are what she and her husband value the most.
