Junctures in Women's Leadership: Health Care and Public Health

Edited by Mary E. O'Dowd and Ruth Charbonneau

SERIES: Junctures: Case Studies in Women's Leadership

Rutgers University Press

Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Health Care and Public Health offers an eclectic compilation of case studies telling the stories of women leaders in public health and health care, from Katsi Cook, Mohawk midwife, to Virginia Apgar, Katharine Dexter McCormick and Florence Schorske Wald, to Marilyn Tavenner, Suerie Moon, and more. The impact of their work is extraordinarily relevant to the current public discourse including subjects such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, disparities in health outcomes, prevention of disease and the impact of the Affordable Care Act. The leadership lessons gleaned from these chapters can be applied to a broad array of disciplines within government, private business, media, philanthropy, pharmaceutical, environmental and health sectors. Each chapter is authored by a well versed and accomplished woman, demonstrating the book’s theme that there are many paths within health care and public health. The case study format provides an introductory section providing biographical and historical background, setting the stage for a juncture, or decision point, and the resolution. The women are compelling characters and worth knowing.

Kudos to O’Dowd and Charbonneau for identifying outstanding women leaders to compile these case studies that both humble and inspire the reader. These lessons remind us it takes one person, using both the adversity of their lives and the talents they have acquired, to improve the health of both communities and the world. Never has there been a more important time in healthcare history to extend ourselves to apply both intellect and persistence to leave our mark.‘ Amy B. Mansue, President and CEO, Inspira Health

This is a motivating collection of stories about exceptional leaders. Women of diverse backgrounds, and bound by specific attributes: passion about the well-being of the people they serve and commitment to improving the social and structural forces that shape their health. An important reminder that one’s legacy can be defined by one major accomplishment, or by many smaller achievements over time. Jewell Mullen, Associate Dean for Health Equity, Dell Medical School

Mary O’Dowd examines the stress and mental health issues healthcare workers face and the impact of misinformation about COVID. State of Affairs with Steve Adubato

Kudos to O’Dowd and Charbonneau for identifying outstanding women leaders to compile these case studies that both humble and inspire the reader. These lessons remind us it takes one person, using both the adversity of their lives and the talents they have acquired, to improve the health of both communities and the world. Never has there been a more important time in healthcare history to extend ourselves to apply both intellect and persistence to leave our mark.‘ Amy B. Mansue, President and CEO, Inspira Health

This is a motivating collection of stories about exceptional leaders. Women of diverse backgrounds, and bound by specific attributes: passion about the well-being of the people they serve and commitment to improving the social and structural forces that shape their health. An important reminder that one’s legacy can be defined by one major accomplishment, or by many smaller achievements over time. Jewell Mullen, Associate Dean for Health Equity, Dell Medical School

Mary O’Dowd examines the stress and mental health issues healthcare workers face and the impact of misinformation about COVID. State of Affairs with Steve Adubato

MARY E. O'DOWD works for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and is on the Advisory Board for the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University. She served as the NJ Department of Health Commissioner, and held positions at NYU Medical Center, NJHA and the NJ General Assembly.

RUTH CHARBONNEAU works at Thomas Jefferson University’s Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp. She served in the leadership team for several Commissioners of the NJ Department of Health and was a NJ Governor’s Fellow.

Foreword to the Series
New Foreword to the Series
Preface

Katsi Cook: “Research and Ceremonies and Healing Are an Empowerment Process”—a Mohawk Midwife Brings the Needs of Women into Environmental Health Research
Elizabeth Hoover

Mona Hanna-Attisha: Using Her Voice to Advocate for Environmental Justice in the City of Flint
Colleen Blake and Mary E. O’Dowd

Katharine Dexter McCormick: Examining an Advocate’s Path—Advancing Women’s Reproductive Rights through Philanthropic Support for Oral Contraception Development
Mary Wachter and Erica Reed

Mary Engle Pennington: Transforming Food Safety with the Power of Persuasion and a Steadfast Commitment to Good Science and the Public’s Health
Akanksha Arya and Christina Tan

Florence Schorske Wald: Standing by Her Principles—Not by a Title—to Bring Hospice to the United States
Patricia A. Findley, Suzanne Willard, and Jacqueline Hunterton-Anderson

Virginia Apgar: Focusing on Prevention, She Structurally Transformed Maternal and Child Health for Generations
Mary E. O’Dowd and Colleen Blake

Marilyn Gaston: Changing the Face of Healthcare through Research, Public Service, and Community Health
Denise V. Rodgers and Grace Ibitamuno

Jane E. Brody: Using Journalism to Impact Personal Health, One Column at a Time
Dawn Thomas and Christina Chesnakov

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey: Leading the Nation to Adopt a Culture of Health
Raquel Mazon Jeffers and Christina Chesnakov

Marilyn Tavenner: From Crashing Patients to Crashing Websites
Heather Howard and Carson Clay

Ruth Williams-Brinkley: Facing Opportunities and Challenges at the Intersection of Community and Healthcare
Elizabeth A. Ryan, Ruth Charbonneau, and Alexander M. Bartke

Suerie Moon: Shaping the Governance of a Complex Global Health System to Achieve Equity
Alexander M. Bartke and Ann Marie Hill

Acknowledgments
Contributors
Index

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