Roselyn Elizabeth Payne Epps (December 11, 1930 – September 29, 2014) was an American

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

physician. She was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

president of the American Medical Women's Association and wrote more than 90 professional articles. She died on September 29, 2014.

Early life

Epps was born in December 11, 1930 in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, but grew up in Savannah, Georgia. She attended Howard University in Washington D.C. where she majored in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and chemistry and continued her medical education there, graduating in 1955.

Career

Epps earned her master's in public health from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1973, after completing her residency and working at the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health at the D.C. Department of Public Health for 10 years. While working at the D.C. Department of Health Epps held many titles such as chief of the Infant and Preschool Division, director of the Children and Youth Project, and chief of the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health. Epps was appointed to the position of commissioner of public health in the Department of Public Health in D.C. in 1980, where she supervised 3,000 employees and managed a $35 million budget. From 1984 to 1989 Epps, acting as chief of Child Development Division and director of the Child Development Center at Howard University, worked on a project to help identify children with learning disabilities and assist them, their schools, and their parents. Epps was a scientific program administrator at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

from 1995 to 1998. During this time she focused on spreading knowledge about smoking prevention and cessation research results both nationally and internationally. In a separate project, she focused on cancer screening and diagnosis. In 1988, Epps was the first woman and the first African American to become president of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

, Washington D.C. chapter. Three years later, she was elected as president of the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA). She was also the first African American to hold this position. A year after that, in 1992, Epps was the first African American woman to become president of the

Medical Society of the District of Columbia Medical Society of the District of Columbia is an American medical society that supports physicians in Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Li ...

. Epps also established the D.C. metropolitan area chapter of

Girls, Inc. Girls Inc. (established in 1864) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which encourages girls to be "Strong, Smart, and Bold" through direct service and advocacy. The organization prioritizes equipping girls with the skills to na ...

As the national president of the AMWA, she worked on establishing the AMWA Foundation, which funds its women's health initiatives and to support advocacy for research, volunteer services and scholarship programs.

Major works

Epps has authored more than 90 professional articles, 16 of which were published as chapters of books. She also co-edited ''The Women's Complete Healthbook'' and ''Developing a Child Care Program''.

Awards

*Foremother Award from the

National Center for Health Research The National Center for Health Research (formerly known as the National Research Center for Women & Families) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization founded in 1999, providing health-related services such as providing free informatio ...

, 2007

References

External links