All division members practice patient advocacy daily in their clinics. Many of the GPAM faculty are involved in Advocacy on various levels beyond the clinic setting. Some examples of various projects and interests include:
- Drs. Ande Jones, Sanjeev Jain, Dipesh Navsaria, Megan Moreno, and Chrissy Zimmerman frequently contribute to the AAP’s healthychildren.org website.
- Megan Moreno’s SMAHRT research group focuses on teens and social media use, and advocates for online safety and healthy online activities.
- Brittany Allen is committed to improving access and care for LGBTQ+ youth in WI.
- Many members are involved in the Pediatric Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism (IDEAA) Committee and Emily Ruedinger, Cristina Delgadillo, and Brit Allen have leadership roles.
Departmental Advocacy
Dr. Laura Houser has been the Associate Director of the Pediatric Global Health Track since its inception in 2010 and was the rotation director for CPAX 2016-2020. She is currently the Faculty Director for Advocacy for the Department of Pediatrics. She engages residents and faculty in teaching and promoting advocacy.
CPAX
Dr. Megan Yanny is the rotation director of the Community Pediatrics and Advocacy eXperience (CPAX) rotation, a 4-week block for pediatric interns combining exposure to various outpatient agencies and advocacy training. Residents develop skills in local, professional, and legislative advocacy, and learn about social determinants of health and the role of community partnerships. The rotation culminates with a resident-initiated advocacy project and presentation.
WI AAP
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 current 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
Dr. Mathur 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.
Dr. Mathur’s research interests may be viewed here.
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 on uwhealthkids.org.
For more information about advocacy in the department and in our trainees: