Deborah K. Walker, EdD
Adjunct Professor, Community Health Sciences - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Deborah Klein Walker, EdD, a behavioral sciences researcher, public health leader, and advocate for public health and social justice, has more than 40 years of experience conducting research and evaluation in community settings, and developing and implementing programs. policies and system changes at the local and state levels, She was Vice President and Senior Fellow at Abt Associates for 13 years after spending 16 years at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where she was the Maternal and Child Health Title V Director, Acting Director for Substance Abuse Services, and Associate Commissioner for Programs and Prevention. Prior to state service, she was a faculty member for over a decade at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is currently .
She currently is an Adjunct Professor of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. She is also the Past President of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice (formerly, the American Orthopsychiatric Association); a Board Member of Family Voices, the Institute for Community Health and the Cambridge Health Alliance Foundation and on the Editorial Board of the Maternal and Child Health Journal. She is a former president of the American Public Health Association and the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs; a founder of New England SERVE and the Research Consortium on Children with Chronic Conditions; a former Board Member of the Massachusetts Public Health Association and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies; a former Trustee of the Cambridge Health Alliance and chair of its Cambridge Health Department subcommittee. She is currently on the Governing Council (representing the American Public Health Association) of the World Federation of Public Health Associations.
Dr. Walker is the author of over 100 peer reviewed articles, 3 books and numerous commentaries. She has been honored by organizations representing maternal and child health, disabilities and at-risk populations.
Education
- Harvard University, EdD Field of Study: Human Development
- Harvard University, MEd Field of Study: Education
- Mount Holyoke College, BA Field of Study: Psychology
Websites
Publications
- Published on 3/13/2023
Dworetzky B, Hoover CG, Walker DK. Family Engagement at the Systems Level: A Framework for Action. Matern Child Health J. 2023 Mar 13. PMID: 36913032.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/6/2022
Payton C, Mishkin K, Davis CA, Katzburg J, Walker DK. A Review of the Maternal and Child Health APHA Policy Statements, 1970-2019. Matern Child Health J. 2022 May 06. PMID: 35522358.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/22/2020
Walker DK. Parenting and social determinants of health. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021 02; 35(1):134-136. PMID: 33593509.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/1/2019
Fagan AA, Bumbarger BK, Barth RP, Bradshaw CP, Cooper BR, Supplee LH, Walker DK. Scaling up Evidence-Based Interventions in US Public Systems to Prevent Behavioral Health Problems: Challenges and Opportunities. Prev Sci. 2019 11; 20(8):1147-1168. PMID: 31444621.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/6/2019
Gil-Rivas V, Handrup CT, Tanner E, Walker DK. Global mental health: A call to action. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2019; 89(4):420-425. PMID: 31169390.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/1/2017
Ghandour RM, Flaherty K, Hirai A, Lee V, Walker DK, Lu MC. Applying Collaborative Learning and Quality Improvement to Public Health: Lessons from the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality. Matern Child Health J. 2017 Jun; 21(6):1318-1326. PMID: 28101758.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/1/2017
Ghandour RM, Flaherty K, Hirai A, Lee V, Walker DK, Lu MC. Applying Collaborative Learning and Quality Improvement to Public Health: Lessons from the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2017; 21(6).
Read At: Custom
- Published on 1/1/2017
Walker DK, Kilmer RP, Armstrong MI. Continuing our organizational mission: A new name for a new time. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2017; 87(1):1-2. PMID: 28080122.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/1/2017
Walker DK, Kilmer RP, Armstrong MI. Continuing Our Organizational Mission: A New Name for a New Time. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2017; 87(1):1-2.
Read At: Custom
- Published on 9/30/2016
Black CL, Yue X, Ball SW, Donahue SM, Izrael D, de Perio MA, Laney AS, Williams WW, Lindley MC, Graitcer SB, Lu PJ, DiSogra C, Devlin R, Walker DK, Greby SM. Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel - United States, 2015-16 Influenza Season. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016 Sep 30; 65(38):1026-31. PMID: 27684642.
Read At: PubMed
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