Recruited by the iconic Levi Watkins, Jr., MD, into the largest cohort of African American students entering a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Class (1979), Vanessa Cullins Hopkins, nee Cullins, is a product of Hopkins’ School of Medicine (1983), School of Hygiene and Public Health (1984), and the nascent 1990’s School of Medicine’s Business of Medicine courses, which prompted her to complete a Masters in Business Administration from Wharton’s Executive MBA Program (1998).
“Convinced that I could become “the Best” by learning from “the Best”, I strove to stay at Hopkins for my residency in Gynecology and Obstetrics, which I completed in 1988, after which I was junior faculty in the Department of Gynecology under George Huggins at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (formerly Francis Scott Key Medical Center).”
“After ten years of practicing medicine and an additional 13 years overseeing medical policy and procedures at the international non-profit, Engender Health and Planned Parenthood’s national office, I served as Vice President of External Medical Affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). As Vice President for External Medical Affairs, I operated at the intersections of Public Policy, Communications, and Medical Services to provide leadership, voice, and assistance to junior and senior staff as they developed and executed strategies to increase access to healthcare services.”
“I am a retired obstetrician-gynecologist whose passion is preventive healthcare and reproductive rights, which I consider essential building blocks for health equity. Since racism is a driver of inequity, I seek a better understanding of racism and its challenges to health equity. I look forward to a robust discussion based on participants’ life experiences and personal scholarship.”
