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

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.

Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Health Care and Public Health offers an eclectic compilation of case studies of women leaders in public health and health care over nearly 150 years. Extraordinarily relevant to current public discourse, topics include: the COVID-19 pandemic, health disparities, disease prevention and the Affordable Care Act. Their leadership lessons can be applied to a broad array of disciplines.

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