Stanford was born in Germantown, Philadelphia to a teenage mother. A few years later, her father went off to college while her mother worked, leaving Stanford in charge of her younger brother. Following high school, Stanford enrolled at Pennsylvania State University for her undergraduate degree and medical degree. Upon graduating from the Penn State University College of Medicine, Stanford finished her residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Stanford subsequently became the first African-American female pediatric surgeon to be trained entirely in the United States.
