This keynote session is presented by Dr. Crystal Pirtle Tyler.
The U.S. has a complex history with race and reproduction, which has led to negative health outcomes for women and other birthing people of color. As reproductive and maternal health practitioners, we have a role to do no harm, but what does that really mean? And how do we grapple with historic harms whose effects still manifest today? This talk provides historical context on reproductive oppression and discuss our role in advancing reproductive and maternal health equity today.
Presenter
Crystal Pirtle Tyler, PhD, MPH
Crystal Pirtle Tyler, PhD, MPH, brings over 15 years of experience advancing reproductive and maternal health equity. As the Chief Health Officer at Rhia Ventures, she translates the needs of the women and birthing people most affected by systemic inequity into programming that fosters equitable reproductive health products and services. Most recently, Crystal served as the Executive Director of Ci3 at the University of Chicago, a research center addressing the social and structural determinants of adolescent reproductive health and well-being through design, storytelling, play, and policy change.
Crystal began her career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta first as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer then as an Epidemiologist within the Division of Reproductive Health. There, she served as a subject matter expert on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and translating research to public health and clinical practice. From CDC, Crystal became the Director of the Michigan Public Health Institute’s Center for Child and Family Health, where she implemented systems level improvements to promote equity in the quality and availability of public health programs. She also served as a Senior Research Leader at IBM Watson Health, where she supported state implementation of Medicaid policy changes to advance maternal and child health outcomes.
Crystal is a trained facilitator and strategic planner who serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Family Planning. She has published in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Journal of Adolescent Health, Contraception, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, among others. Crystal completed both her Ph.D. and MPH in Epidemiology at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, respectively, and her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies at Spelman College.