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

Atlanta, Ga.

President-elect Candidate

Professional titles

Rear admiral and assistant surgeon general, U.S. Public Health Service (retired); director, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); professor of pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.; assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine; attending neonatologist, Grady Memorial Medical Center; adjunct professor and health policy scholar, Division of Health Policy and Management, Emory-Rollins School of Public Health

Medical school and post-graduate education

M.D., Harvard Medical School 
M.P.H., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Residency program and fellowship

Pediatric residency, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. 
Neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship, joint program in neonatology (Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital), Harvard Medical School

Involvement in AAP or other organizations

  • National Academy of Medicine member-elect
  • Former CDC liaison to the AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Committee on Fetus and Newborn
  • Former U.S. Public Health Service representative member on AAP Section on Uniformed Services
  • AAP neonatal intensive care unit disaster preparedness guidance, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome guidance and neonatal levels of care author
  • AAMC Center for Health Justice and Society for Women’s Health Research adviser
  • Women of Impact member
  • Biomedical Sciences Student Career Symposium adviser

Position statement

I have spent my career in service to children as a Walter Reed-trained Army pediatrician, a Boston Children's-trained neonatologist, a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, and for 14 years as director of CDC's Division of Reproductive Health. From those positions I have helped advance maternal, child and adolescent outcomes in the U.S. and globally, narrow disparities for Black and Indigenous families, respond to the opioid epidemic, lead pandemic guidance for pregnant patients and newborns, and build data systems pediatricians depend on.

In improving health outcomes for our children, we are not there until we are ALL there. Every child deserves the chance to thrive: healthy from birth, free from preventable injury and violence, supported through mental and physical health challenges, and seen by a pediatrician who has the time, the tools, and the support to care for them well.

The Academy's voice for every stage of a child's life, from before birth through adolescence, has never mattered more. My career in public health has prepared me to help the Academy lead. Together, we will advance equity and close gaps in care through quality improvement, support the pediatric workforce with effective tools, and translate evidence-based clinical care to policies to improve outcomes for kids.  

The Academy's voice and action for children, and for the pediatricians who care for them, have never mattered more. I would be honored to serve.