I know in my blog I usually post about all things food. However, I would be remiss if I did not share this phenomenal info with you about my friend, doctor, wife, mother, and master of her craft, Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, honored as Nationally Recognized Expert in Adolescent Health by The Grio’s 100 History Makers in the Making!
Since we’ve met, Yolanda has always been passionate about mentoring youth and educating them on responsible sexual behavior. I had the pleasure of working with Yolanda years back in Cincinnati, Ohio where she headed the Physical and Mental Health committee of our most illustrious organization, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter. Yolanda enlisted as the speaker of her unparalleled event on AIDS education and awareness, our notable soror, Emmy Award winning activist, author, and AIDS survivor, Rae Lewis- Thornton . And of course, Yolanda’s young mentees were front-row-seated to see and hear first hand the havoc of the deadly disease.
So it comes as no surprise that this published doctor of adolescent medicine has made The Grio’s 100 for her groundbreaking success!
Congrats Yo!
Click here for the article from msnbc.com:
Also click here for the article in Morehouse School of Medicine’s news:
…or read it here!
TheGrio’s 100: Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, sex educator for life
5:00 AM on 02/01/2010
Read More: Black History, Health, Medical, Morehouse School of Medicine, Service and Activism, Sex, STD, The Grios 100, Yolanda Wimberly
Courtesy of the Morehouse School of Medicine
Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, 39, is assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and director of its pediatric residency program. Wimberly is also medical director of the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute of MSM. It’s the first and only such center in the nation.
Wimberly, a married mother of three-year-old twins, is considered an expert in adolescent medicine. “Because of the nature of the business that I’m in, and the population that I see, STDs and family planning are two key issues that I deal with,” said Wimberly.
Eight years ago, the Meharry Medical College graduate began changing her approach to her patients’ sexual health. This came after former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher tapped her for a panel, examining the state of sexual education in medical schools.
“I would sit in these meetings and I would be like, ‘Wow this is really enlightening,'” Wimberly said. “I had never really thought of the way that I thought about sex, always in a negative aspect.” Wimberly found that sexual attitudes were key.
“I think in general, in the black community, we don’t necessarily talk about sex,” she said. “We look at it on television, … sing about it in music. We write poems about it, but we never really have a candid conversation about sex,” said Wimberly.
Wimberly emphasizes that in this day and age, sexual choices can lead to serious health consequences, so it is imperative that we have open dialogues in our homes, communities and nation as a whole. From workshops to office visits, Wimberly seeks opportunities to guide parents and teens in informed talks about sex.
Her efforts won her the prestigious Association of American Medical Colleges Humanism in Medicine Award for 2008.
Wimberly hopes the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health will serve as a model for others to start such centers around the nation.
“From birth to death, we are all sexual beings,” she said. “My goal is to help people have good sexual health in the context of a responsible relationship.”
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