The Children’s Village Organization in Dobbs Ferry, NY, announced Traci Furbert-Gardner, MD, as its new Medical Director on March 13, 2019. Dr. Gardner makes history as the first woman and African American to hold this position in the agency’s 170-year history. Dr. Gardner is the current Chief Medical Officer for The Division of Immigration Services at The Children’s Village and will continue to hold that position. Dr. Gardner is also the first woman and African American to hold the positions of Director of Community Engagement and Director of Health Inequity/Anti-bias/Racism at New York Medical College and Medical Director for the Greenburgh Eleven Union Free School District in Dobbs Ferry, NY.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be the first woman and African American or Person of Color to hold this position in the organization’s 160-year history,” Dr. Traci shared with Black Westchester.
Dr. Gardner graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and New York Medical College with a Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Gardner is also a Fellow of The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, part of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, secondary to completion of the Supporting the Well-Being of LGBTQ Youth Certification Program. Prior to medical school, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine. She has published articles on various topics on medicine, health, and trauma, and has been a contributing writer for the website, Fit! Live! Win! Her most recent article was published in Psychology Today on The Collective Trauma of the Black Community in 2020: What are the Implications for COVID Vaccines?
In her role as the Director of Community Engagement, she has partnered with the NAACP as well as other community organizations on topics that impact health disparities in the African American Community. She has written curricula for New York Medical College School of Medicine on patient-centered collaborative care focused on case coordination, population health, social determinants of health, and cultural competency/Implicit Bias.
Her current appointments include: Board of Directors -The Westchester Institute for Human Development, Associate Clinical Professor- New York Medical College, Adjunct Faculty Attending in the Department of Pediatrics- Westchester Medical Center, Member of Advisory Council for the Attorneys for Children for the 9th judicial District of the NY State Court System, Founding Member and current Chair of Policy and Procedure Committee of Gender Responsive Initiatives and Partnerships Court (GRIP Court), Access to Justice Sub-Committee on Immigrant Rights and Services for the Ninth Judicial District, and NYS Judicial Institute Think Tanks on Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice.
Dr. Gardner has done presentations and panel discussions on Adolescent Health, Trauma, ACES, Cultural Competency, Race/Implicit Bias, and COVID-19. In 2021, she was selected as one of the sixteen 2021 Westchester Magazine’s Healthcare Heroes for her COVID policy and implementation within the Child Welfare System locally and nationally. She has served as an expert Panelist for the United States Senate Finance Committee on the topic of Psychotropic Medications in Child Welfare on Capitol Hill, Guest Panelist for The AM Joy Show with Joy Reid on MSNBC, Black News Channel and Black Theatre United, Invited Workshop Presenter for the Child Welfare League of America’s National Conference in Washington DC as well as Invited Presenter and Panelist for a discussion on Programs and Policies to Prevent the Incarceration of Girls of Color just to name a few.
Dr. Gardner received the 2010 Greater NY Health Association Honor Recipient Award, recognizing Haitian Earthquake Medical Responders, and the 2013 NAACP Image Award (Health Care Provider of the Year for Community Contribution and Excellence) from the Greenburgh/White Plains Branch of the NAACP and became the Health Chair for this Branch in 2017. Dr. Gardner is the current Membership Chair of the White Plains Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, a community service organization.
Black Westchester celebrates Dr. Traci Furbert-Gardner for making her-story and shattering the glass ceiling, stepping into a demanding role when she became medical director and chief medical officer of The Children’s Village in March of 2019.
Excerpt from the book, “Black Westchester Celebrates Black Women Of Westchester,” available on Amazon or email BlackWestchesterMag@gmail.com to purchase your autographed copies.
