On April 11th, 2025, the MCH LEAP program hosted its fourth annual Spring Summit, gathering over fifty students, faculty, and administrators from the University of South Carolina (USC) with working professionals in the field of maternal and child health (MCH) here in our state. Dr. Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD, Dean and Henry Savage Jr. Professor in Environmental Quality and Global Health at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, gave opening remarks, sharing the University’s commitment to the goals of the MCH programs at USC to foster diversity within the public health and healthcare workforce in order to improve the health and well-being of mothers, children and families among underserved and minority populations.
We were honored to be joined by two wonderful keynote speakers: Dr. Anthony R. Gregg, MD, MBA, FACOG, FACMG, and Ms. Danielle Wingo. Dr. Gregg is the Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Prisma Health – Columbia and gave a keynote presentation on the topic of carrier screening in a talk titled: Prenatal Carrier Screening Policy is Impacted by Population Databases. Ms. Wingo is the SC State Title V Director and Bureau Director of Maternal and Child Health at the Department of Public Health, and she spoke on her career trajectory and lessons learned in the public health field.
Our Career Roundtables were also a highlight of the day – allowing students to meet and ask questions of seven professionals working in maternal and child health careers. These introductions, together with an informal setting to ask questions and learn, are hallmarks of the MCH LEAP program’s ability to connect students with professionals on their MCH career paths.
- Larisa D. Bruner, Phd, MPH, MPA
- Section Director of Surveillance, Assessment, and Evaluation within the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control at the S.C. Department of Public Health
- Ayzia Taylor, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC
- Clinical Assistant Professor at the USC College of Nursing
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in a primary care setting
- Adolescent mental health provider at a rural high school
- Meghan Davidson, PT, DPT
- Pelvic Health Physical Therapist and Owner of Soulshine Pelvic Health and Wellness
- Chelsea Richard, PhD, MSPH
- Chief of Staff at South Carolina First Steps and the Early Childhood Advisory Council
- Lance Savidge, DPT
- Physical Therapist at Prisma Health Physical Therapy Specialists
- Carol B. Alan, MD, FACOG
- OBGYN Residency Program Director – Prisma Health Midlands
- Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology – USC Columbia School of Medicine
- Victoria H. Davis, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE
- BSN Program Director and Associate Professor, Professional Nursing Practice, College of Nursing, USC
We rounded out the Spring Summit by hearing from some of the MCH LEAP Emerging Scholars of Cohort 4, Courtney Brooks and Jessica Delgado, and by learning from two former trainees where they are at now in their careers and how MCH LEAP helped them to get there, Cassidy Lena and Di’Onna McFadden.
We finished our day by recognizing our LEAP students with certificates of program completion, MCH LEAP graduation cords, and thanks for all who contributed to a successful Spring Summit and program year. This full day was a bright reminder of the work ahead, the many career paths from which to make a difference, and the successes along the way for the careers of those who make the commitment to improve the health of women, children, and families through diversity in the MCH workforce.