Advocacy
Watch VideoDiscover the many ways our faculty are impacting children's health beyond the hospital.
Community
Our faculty collaborate with community stakeholders to develop partnerships, provide education, create programs and services, and change public policies and practices to improve children’s health.
Media
Our faculty effectively utilize television, radio, print media and blogs to promote messages about child health and well-being.
Op-Ed by Dr. Christina Barriteau: Too Scared to Watch: Social Justice and Media
Op-Ed by Dr. Kyle Mack: Some Medical Examiners Say Sickle Cett Trait Causes Sudden Death - They're Wrong
Legislative
Many of our faculty members testify at city, state and federal levels to promote issues concerning child health and well-being, as well as serving as content experts for legislative advocacy or policy development.
Using advocacy to improve the health and well-being of children is a defining element of pediatrics."
Associate Chair, Advocacy
Faculty Advocacy Spotlight
health equity in children with kidney disease
Jill Krissberg, MD, MS is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending pediatric nephrologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is a member of the Public Policy Committee for the American Society of Nephrology and is a graduate of the John E. Lewy Foundation Advocacy Scholars Program. Dr. Krissberg describes herself as a physician advocate with a passion for achieving health equity in children with kidney disease. She does this by spearheading initiatives for social influencers of health screening in clinic, remaining active in legislative advocacy for policies that impact children with kidney disease, and researching health disparities in children with kidney disease. She is also involved in mentoring medical trainees in both advocacy skills and in health services or health disparities research.
decreasing health inequities
Mariana Glusman, MD has dedicated her career to decreasing health and educational inequities among minoritized children and their families living in low-income communities and households. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending pediatrician in the Division of Advanced General Pediatrics at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is also the Associate Medical Director of the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities, Medical Director of the Schreiber Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness, and Associate Chair for Compassion and Wellness Initiatives for Lurie Children’s Department of Pediatrics. Her areas of focus are literacy promotion in pediatrics, advocacy, EDI, bilingual language development, narrative medicine, medical education and provider wellness/joy in practice. She is the new chair-elect for the executive committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Council on Early Childhood, long serving Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Illinois, and a former president of the Illinois Chapter of the AAP.
Health disparities in pediatric asthma
Avani Shah, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University. She is the program director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Program and the medical director of the High-Risk Asthma Program at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Her advocacy interests focus on addressing the health disparities in pediatric asthma. She leads a multidisciplinary team in the High-Risk Asthma Program that serves over 300 patients with severe persistent asthma and addresses all aspects of asthma care including the social determinants of health. In addition, she developed the Asthma Mobile Clinic which provides multidisciplinary specialized asthma care in the Chicago communities with high asthma prevalence. This type of direct community engagement instills trust in families and alleviates transportation barriers to asthma appointments, which allows for fewer missed work and school days.
Opioid stewardship, and firearm access
Kristine Cieslak, MD is a Master Clinician in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and serves as Chairman of Pediatrics and Section Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Northwestern Medicine at Central DuPage Hospital. She is Co-Director of Advocacy for the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Lurie Children’s, is a member of the Department of Pediatrics Advocacy Board and has been actively involved in advocacy education, curriculum development and mentoring on behalf of Lurie Children’s pediatric residency and fellowship programs. Her advocacy interests include opioid stewardship, firearm access screening and promotion of safe gun storage. She serves as a mentor for Feinberg School of Medicine medical students participating in the Community Health Advocacy Initiative.
Advocacy Board
Find out how our faculty encourage advocacy today and in future generations of pediatricians and scientists.
