Kima Taylor, MD, MPH

A board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Taylor is currently serving as Director of the National Drug Addiction Treatment and Harm Reduction Program for Open Society Foundations, working to increase access to treatment services for the uninsured and underinsured. The work seeks to engage advocates in the work of reframing addiction as a chronic disease not a criminal justice issue and decrease the inequities in access to and outcomes of community substance use services in an effort to improve health and wellness.  From January 2006-2007 , she served as the Deputy Commissioner for the Baltimore City Health Department. From January 2004-2005, she served as the Legislative Assistant in health and social policy for Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). Dr. Taylor has worked for the American Medical Student Association in various capacities, most recently creating cultural competency and ethnogeriatric curricula guidelines for medical and dental schools. From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Taylor cared for uninsured and underinsured patients at a community health center in Washington, D.C. and created a city-wide coalition to advance literacy in pediatric primary care. She worked with other community organizations to empower youth such that they will realize their abilities, grasp opportunities, and improve the world at large.

Dr. Taylor is a graduate of Brown University School of Medicine and the Georgetown University residency program in pediatrics. In 2002, Dr. Taylor received an M.P.H. degree from the Harvard School of Public Health as a CFHU Fellow; her research focused on exploring state legislative remedies for racial and ethnic health disparities. Dr. Taylor is also a proud mother of two children who seeks to ensure her own well-being by continuing the fight for work-life balance.