GPAM Advocacy

Megan Yanny, MD and Carolyn Sleeth, MD, MPH are the co-rotation directors of the Community Pediatrics, Advocacy, and Ambulatory eXperience (CPAAX) rotations, two 4-week blocks for pediatric residents to be longitudinally exposed to various outpatient and community agencies, advocacy training, and acute and chronic outpatient care. Residents develop skills in local, professional, and legislative advocacy, outpatient medicine topics such as mental health, child abuse, and breastfeeding, and learn about social determinants of health and the role of community partnerships. The rotation culminates with a resident-initiated advocacy project and presentation in third year.

Many GPAM faculty are members and active participants in the WIAAP, the Wisconsin Chapter of the AAP, and some have leadership roles.

Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD is the immediate past President of the WIAAP and also writes regular opinion columns for the Capital Times, covering a variety of topics related to the health and well-being of children and families. He is also the founding medical director of the Wisconsin Reach out And Read program and lectures regularly on early childhood brain development.

Mala Mathur, MD, MPH has advocated for children at the local, state and federal level. She has worked with legislators, testifying at committee hearings, and speaking at press conference at the Wisconsin Capitol. She has also written several op-ed columns and given media interviews to promote healthy children and families. Dr. Mathur is a past president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) and during her presidency helped to develop the first WIAAP Advocacy Day at the Wisconsin State Capitol where Wisconsin pediatricians and other child health stakeholder come together annually to advocate for child health issues. She currently serves as the Policy Co-chair for the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Community Pediatrics. In addition, Dr. Mathur serves on the Executive Committee of the Academic Pediatric Association’s new Health Policy Scholar Program, a three-year program created to develop the skills of pediatricians who would like to engage in advocacy and policy through their professional career. Dr. Mathur enjoys teaching residents how to engage in advocacy within the profession of pediatrics.

Paula Cody MD, MPH, FAAP is on the Board of Directors for the WIAAP. She is passionate about all things adolescent health and is a frequent contributor to the Growing up Healthy blog.

Kathryn (Kerry) Gannon-Loew, MD, MS has a particular interest in working with and advocating for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders. She has started a multidisciplinary clinic within the UWHealth Teenage and Young Adult Clinic that evaluates and treats adolescents and young adults with substance use concerns, ranging from cannabis to nicotine to opioid use, and including the prescription of medication for opioid use disorder. She participates in local, regional and national discussions on best practices in addiction medicine and the care of adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders.