Biography

Alethia Carr is a Public Health Consultant and the retired Director of the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health for the state of Michigan. She serves as co-lead for the regional perinatal quality improvement coalition for southeast Michigan (one of the largest regions in the state including Detroit and Wayne county). The primary goal is to improve the perinatal system of care and achieve health equity for birth and maternal outcomes. She provided consultation to establish a regional perinatal QI coalition in western Michigan. Additionally, she has guided 4 states and a major city (Washington, DC, Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois, and the city of Detroit) developing infant mortality reduction plans. Her experience includes serving as co-lead for federal (HRSA/MCHB) virtual infant mortality reduction learning networks - one on preconception heath and another on the social determinants of health with more than 15 states participating. She has also been a repeat grant reviewer for MCHB Title V Block Grant awards ($15- $40 M per state). As the MCH Director for the state of Michigan she was responsible for administering the more than 50 state programs and policies that support the health of women and children in the state through Michigan's public health infrastructure. While in this position she implemented the first infant mortality reduction plan that included addressing the social determinants of health as a priority strategy. Alethia headed the Michigan WIC Program for nearly nine years as the WIC Director, and automated the states' WIC Program benefit system that became a national model, as well as implemented a division strategic plan that was completed in five years. Her work in the public health arena deepened her concern about the consistent health disparity that exists between black and white populations, especially in urban areas. This led to her focus on raising awareness of the dearth of available, affordable and attractive stores that offer high quality fruits and vegetables in large urban areas, while a WK Kellogg Food and Policy Fellow in 2009 & 2010. She considers access to quality food a community "must have" in order to ensure improved health and nutrition for all families. In late 2010, Alethia became the principal investigator for another Kellogg funded project to improve birth outcomes in the state of Michigan by reducing the unacceptable racial disparity in infant deaths that exists for African American and American Indian infants, when compared to white infants. She worked to improve the skill level of state public health professionals to use a health equity lens in their work, as a means to mitigate practices influenced by institutional racism, and resultantly improve the health and social support system for populations of color. Ms Carr has an MBA from Oakland University and a BS in hospital dietetics from Wayne State University and is a registered dietitian. She is most proud of her work in public health to promote health equity, her focus on CQI and her christian faith. She is married, with two adult daughters.