WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Lamaze International announced today that Dr. Andrea J. Boudreaux, FACHE, takes the organization's helm as chief executive officer on November 1, 2020. Linda Harmon, who has served Lamaze International for nearly 30 years, will retire on October 31, 2020.
Boudreaux is the first African American CEO in the 60-year history of Lamaze International, marking a major milestone in the organization's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for childbirth educators, parents and infants.
"I am very proud of the thinking, transparent communications and application of equitable and consistent care that defined the whole experience of selecting Dr. Boudreaux as the new leader of Lamaze," said Alice Turner, LCCE, CD(DONA), president of Lamaze International. "Her qualifications make her the ideal fit to lead our organization into the next phase of its growth providing trusted, evidence-based information to parents and childbirth educators."
Boudreaux is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 15 years of progressive leadership in the nation's largest healthcare organizations. Most recently, she served as a senior partner with Manhattan-based JCG Consulting Group, where she led all clinical transformation efforts with clients across the nation to improve care delivery, as well as COVID-19 response and operations management. In that capacity, Boudreaux led a 19-state service line development, opened an integrated clinic for the treatment of Hepatitis C patients, and redesigned a care delivery model for a regional health plan.
"I am thrilled to join Lamaze International at such a critical time for childbirth education," Boudreaux said. "I am most excited about the opportunity to reach areas of our globe that have been marginalized, increase access to care for those in need and reduce the alarming disparities in education and care for woman of color."
As a tireless advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Boudreaux has focused on helping organizations operationalize diversity. As a regional chief diversity officer with HCA, she was instrumental in improving patient outcomes and expanding services across the $50-billion organization.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion is about more than simply hiring minorities," she said. "It is about transforming business practices to specifically outreach to underserved communities."
Boudreaux is board certified in Healthcare Management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, demonstrating her commitment to continued learning and excellence in healthcare practice. A medical psychologist by training, Boudreaux spent nearly a decade in clinical practice working diligently to improve the health of children and adolescents through the integration of behavioral health and primary care. Her research interests include the integration of spirituality and religion, psychotherapy and addressing the underutilization of mental health services, especially within the African American community.
Boudreaux, a proud graduate of Howard University and Texas A&M University, will be based in the new Washington, D.C. headquarters of Lamaze International. She is very active in her community and has held multiple non-profit board positions, including her current role as vice chair of The POWER Foundation and Momentum Collective Inc. Boudreaux also serves as an alumni member of the Texas A&M School of Public Health Advisory Board.
About Lamaze International
Lamaze International is a non-profit organization and trusted global leader with a mission to advance safe and healthy pregnancy, birth and early parenting through evidence-based education and advocacy.
SOURCE Lamaze International
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