Gene Declercq, Program Advisor, DrPH
Gene Declercq
combines formal training in political science with almost twenty years of
experience as a certified childbirth educator to examine policy and practice
related to childbirth in the US and abroad. The most recent example is his
current research examining cesarean section in the US as part of his work as a
Robert Wood Johnson-funded Health Policy Investigator. He has served as lead
author of two national studies of women's experiences in childbirth entitled Listening to Mothers. He's published
numerous research articles and is (very gradually) working on a book on
cesarean childbirth. He was a technical advisor to the film documentary, The Business of Being Born. He's also
been active in a variety of public health projects in his hometown of Lawrence,
Massachusetts, including immunization and lead poisoning prevention efforts and
is currently involved in a community-wide oral health campaign that includes
developing St. Luke's Dental Clinic to serve those without access to care. He
has authored two editions of the report, The
Health of the Merrimack Valley, which examined health status in 24
Massachusetts communities. As an educator, he is a past president of the
Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health and has been a recipient
of the Norman Scotch Award for outstanding teaching at BUSPH. He currently
serves as the BUSPH Assistant Dean for Doctoral Education, directing a
collaborative effort that led to a new Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Program at
BUSPH. He also serves as co-chair of the Steering Committee for the DrPH
Subcommittee of the Association of Schools of Public Health.
Barbara Baumgartner, RN, PH.D
Barbara Baumgartner is the Associate Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington University in St. Louis, where she has been teaching since 1998. Before becoming a professor, she earned her undergraduate degree with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked as an RN for thirteen years at the Children's Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She received her PH.D in English with a certificate in Women's Studies from Northwestern University. Now, as a Senior Lecturer, she teaches classes in literature and women's health. Her research interests include medical history and nineteenth-century American women writers.
Patricia Burkhardt, LM CM, DrPh
Patricia Burkhardt, a midwife with a doctorate in Public Health, has been engaged in the care of women and in the education process for more than 30 years. She worked internationally for over 14 years, mainly in Latin America, where she influenced the quality of women’s health care through both education and practice. Since her return to the US 25 years ago, Dr. Burkhardt worked for 8 years as Director of the Midwifery Service of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center before she moved to New York University in 1994 to develop and open the Midwifery Education Program of the Division of Nursing. In 1994 she was appointed to the inaugural New York State Board of Midwifery, the first of its kind in the US. In 2004 she introduced Problem Based Learning into the Midwifery Program as the basic method for student learning. Fundamental to all her activities has been the strongly held belief that midwifery exists only to serve women and their health needs, including childbearing. It is a profession essential to the well being of women. Since her retirement from NYU in 2009, Pat has become involved in policy and politics at the city, state and national level.
Barbara Baumgartner, RN, PH.D
Barbara Baumgartner is the Associate Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington University in St. Louis, where she has been teaching since 1998. Before becoming a professor, she earned her undergraduate degree with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and worked as an RN for thirteen years at the Children's Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She received her PH.D in English with a certificate in Women's Studies from Northwestern University. Now, as a Senior Lecturer, she teaches classes in literature and women's health. Her research interests include medical history and nineteenth-century American women writers.
Patricia Burkhardt, LM CM, DrPh
Patricia Burkhardt, a midwife with a doctorate in Public Health, has been engaged in the care of women and in the education process for more than 30 years. She worked internationally for over 14 years, mainly in Latin America, where she influenced the quality of women’s health care through both education and practice. Since her return to the US 25 years ago, Dr. Burkhardt worked for 8 years as Director of the Midwifery Service of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center before she moved to New York University in 1994 to develop and open the Midwifery Education Program of the Division of Nursing. In 1994 she was appointed to the inaugural New York State Board of Midwifery, the first of its kind in the US. In 2004 she introduced Problem Based Learning into the Midwifery Program as the basic method for student learning. Fundamental to all her activities has been the strongly held belief that midwifery exists only to serve women and their health needs, including childbearing. It is a profession essential to the well being of women. Since her retirement from NYU in 2009, Pat has become involved in policy and politics at the city, state and national level.