Our Doctors

Naheed Rahman, MD, F.A.A.P., is the founding physician of Steeplechase Pediatric Center. She completed her pediatric studies at the Tulane Medical School and did two additional years of fellowship in Pediatric Nephrology. She is currently part of the Medical Staff of Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center and Willowbrook Methodist Hospital. She has been in private pediatric practice in Northwest Houston for the last twenty three years. She is well versed in all aspects of pediatric care from newborn to eighteen years of age.

Mario Garza Jr., MD, F.A.A.P., is a native Houstonian. He attended the University of Texas Medical School at Houston's world renowned Texas Medical Center. Upon receiving his medical degree in 1984 , he then completed his 3 year pediatric residency at the University of Texas in 1987. He joined Steeplechase Pediatric Center at that time. Dr. Garza is a Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Married to his wife Lisa, he enjoys life in the country with his wife and 2 daughters.

Paul S. Herman, MD, F.A.A.P., is a native Houstonian. He received his medical degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Following an internship in Baltimore, Maryland, at the University of Maryland affiliated South Baltimore General Hospital, he completed his pediatric residency at the University of Texas at Houston in 1987. He has been with Steeplechase Pediatric Center since 1990, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. He is married to Julie, and they have two children, Edward and Anne. Dr. Herman enjoys fishing and camping.

Grace Leonardo, MD, F.A.A.P., completed her medical studies at the Cebu Institute of Medicine, Philippines, where she graduated with honors. She then obtained her Pediatric residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before relocating to Houston, TX, she spent the next 5 years in Dover, Delaware in a busy pediatric practice. She is Board Certified in Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Married to an allergist, she has 2 young children, and enjoys piano playing and crossword puzzles. Dr. Leonardo is fluent in English, Chinese, Filipino and proficient in medical Spanish.

Farah Mamedov, MD, F.A.A.P., graduated with Honors from Azerbaijan Medical University in 1999. Marriage brought her to Houston, where she continued her medical education. She completed a pediatric residency program at Baylor College of Medicine, one of the best pediatric residency programs in the nation. After completion of her residency in 2004, she was a Fellow at the Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine Department at Baylor College of Medicine until joining Steeplechase Pediatric Center. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Mamedov is married and has 2 daughters.

Veronica K. Goytia,M.D.,F.A.A.P, was born in New York and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She received her B.A. in Pre-Med/Biology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and received her medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine, in Grenada, W.I. in 2001. Dr. Goytia completed her residency training in Pediatrics at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas in 2004. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2008, she completed her Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. Dr. Goytia is fluent in both English and Spanish. She is married and has a daughter, Aileen, to whom she dedicates her free time.

Gretel Salazar, PA-C, completed 3 years of undergraduate courses at The University of Texas at Brownsville, and then graduated with a Bachelors degree in Physician Assistant studies at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She is certified by National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and is a member of The American Academy of Physician Assistants. She likes spending time with her husband, her son and her 2 dogs, Chico and Astro.

Gretel is married and enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs Chico and Astro.

Jessica L. Swarr, PA-C graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine with a Master's Degree in 2007. Her husband's Pediatric Residency at Baylor College of Medicine brought the two of them to Houston. She is board certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the society for PA's in Pediatrics and the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants. She and her husband are proud owners of a large Bengal named Buster! In her spare time, she loves biking, cooking and exploring Houston!