What are your gender pronouns?
He, Him, His
Where are you from?
Richmond, Virginia. But New Orleans since the first day I moved here in June 1999. Richmond is a better town since I left.
What’s your specialty or area of expertise?
Adolescent Medicine and Public Health.
I love both working with youth and young adults as well as public health practice and programming. That plus five years working the front counter of a neighborhood grocery store got me the skills I needed for my job.
What first inspired you to become a doctor?
Good question. I love science and people. I wanted to interact with people in a meaningful way. But really, it came out of a crisis of conscience when I decided not to go to Art School. I’m very happy I made that choice, but I do miss painting.
What story about one of your patients most sticks with you?
A young lady was sent to our Adolescent Health Clinic who had been seen by multiple providers, had three or four surgeries for chronic stomach pain. When she came to our clinic with a multitude of pain symptoms and desire for more tests, we also asked about sexual abuse. She disclosed for the first time she had been sexually abused for years until she was ten years old. Once we acknowledged the abuse and her need for therapy, we were able to mitigate and eliminate the stomach pain. No more tests, no more surgeries, just one question and some compassion. Treat your patients with respect and compassion every day.
What current policy issue especially motivates you to be an advocate?
Ugh. So many options. Any and all erosions to the Affordable Care Act? We are really in a critical place where the health care of women and youth is being jeopardized for pure political gain.
For now, I’ll go with the Trump administration’s change to the ACA requirement that all contraceptive options be made available through employer based and other insurers. This likely has been the broadest negative impact on women’s health. But I could be wrong, because there are far too many answers for this question that stir me. Louisiana just passed an extremely ill-informed 15-week abortion ban out of the State Senate. That bill, if it were to go into effect, will likely harm many women in the state as well.
Who is your social justice hero?
Dr. Willie Parker right now. And James Comey, my William and Mary homey and fellow grocery clerk. Who knew?
