National AAP Election Center

Lois K. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP

My inspiration is simple: children and the clinicians who care for them.

We are at an inflection point. Now, more than ever, the AAP is being called upon to protect our children’s health and champion their clinicians. We face challenges we thought were solved: vaccines eliminating once-common infections and affordable health insurance for families are now threatened. Concurrently, we must confront pediatric workforce concerns. We need relentless advocacy and systemic support to ensure we in pediatrics can work effectively and receive the recognition we deserve.

As a pediatric emergency medicine physician one of the things I love in my work is the diversity of my patients. It is a privilege to care for kids with medical complexity or mental health crises as well as to cuddle a newborn or connect with a teen. I am also inspired by the dedication of our pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, and trainees in the care of our patients and in the work of the AAP.

It is these experiences with patients and colleagues that inspires me to run for AAP President-elect. Our kids and clinicians deserve a leader who will match the urgency of this moment with action. Through my AAP work, I have witnessed how we are THE premier organization standing up for children and the workforce that cares for them. The AAP is a powerful national voice for children, clinicians, and the pediatric community. Together, we can advance health for our children and champion our workforce to secure a healthy, equitable future.

Wanda D. Barfield, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP

In college, learning one statistic changed everything for me: Black babies in this country die at twice the rate of white babies. That fact changed my trajectory toward neonatology, toward federal public health, toward a conviction that has never left me: every child deserves to be healthy, safe, and able to thrive. We are not there until we are ALL there. 

That conviction turned into service - from the Army Medical Corps, to Boston Children's, to CDC's Division of Reproductive Health. I still practice neonatology at Grady Memorial Hospital, and the Academy shapes how I serve children and families.

I am running now because children, families, and pediatricians are facing compounding pressures: unmet mental health needs, access gaps, threats to prevention and public trust. I think about the clinician in a federally qualified health center carrying an ever-heavier load. The hospitalist standing watch through the night. The trainee who chose this work to make a difference, but worries about how to repay their debt. They make the Academy’s work real and I am here to serve them.

Our Academy's voice has never mattered more. Across my career, I have worked at scale with equity at the center, advancing maternal and infant health and leading through uncertainty, from 9/11 to COVID-19. I bring that experience and resolve to lead the Academy.

I love AAP, what it stands for, and the community it holds together. I would be honored to serve every child and the pediatricians who show up for them. 

Lois K. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP

Pediatric medicine stands at a critical crossroads. Today, pediatric physicians are facing multiple systemic pressures: misinformation eroding bedside trust, workforce challenges, and policies undermining child health. As a community, we are being asked to do more with fewer resources, while defending evidence-based care against unprecedented headwinds.

My vision to lead the American Academy of Pediatrics through these unsettled times centers on two core principles: protecting the workforce and advancing child health.

First, we must fiercely protect the pediatric workforce. We must champion initiatives to address administrative friction, scale peer support networks, and advance pathways to support pediatric careers. We must advocate for fair reimbursement models and robust Medicaid funding, ensuring families can retain access to care while keeping pediatric practices sustainable. We cannot care for children if we fail to support the clinicians who treat them.

Second, we must continue to advance child health by putting children and adolescents first, grounded firmly in evidence-based science. This means providing guidance for best practices in clinical care and constant advocacy for policies to support families and child health. We must equip pediatricians with the tools to counter misinformation with our patients and the public, transforming our collective voices into powerful counter-narratives.

We can leverage the strengths of AAP members by connecting independent practices and academic centers to reinforce pediatric physicians as the authoritative, trusted anchor for child health. Together, we can transform these systemic pressures into progress for a resilient future where both our workforce and our patients can grow and flourish.

Wanda D. Barfield, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP

As a practicing neonatologist at a safety-net hospital and a pediatric public-health leader at the state and federal level, I see what pediatricians across every setting are up against: threats to Medicaid and CHIP coverage, administrative burden that consumes the day, and misinformation that threatens vaccine preventable disease and preventive care.

My vision is an Academy that advocates for its members, stays true to the science, and helps pediatricians meet the emerging issues shaping daily practice. That means protecting Medicaid and CHIP and advancing payment that reflects the complexity of pediatric care; supporting electronic health record (EHR) and artificial intelligence tools that measurably reduce administrative burden; strengthening partnerships with the academic and community institutions that train the next generation, and ensuring our policy and communications translate evidence accurately for families and policymakers. Continuous quality improvement in each of these levers will advance equitable care — the right care at the right time for everyone.

Early-career physicians and trainees need stable graduate medical education funding, federal loan repayment that recognizes pediatric service, and a clear path into their career of their dreams. Mid-career pediatricians need support for practice transformation and EHR that give them time back. Senior pediatricians need ways to share decades of wisdom with the workforce coming after them.

The Academy must continue to listen to pediatricians, act on what is heard, and ensure every one of us is equipped to do the work we came into pediatrics to do. For every child and those who care for them.