Ep 06: Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, AMWA: Goes to Washington for Sex Equality in Health & Wellness

Equality Talks: The Official ERA Podcast

Meet Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, former president of AMWA (American Medical Women's Association) and 1st Hispanic president of the the organization. ERA Coaltion partner, AMWA, advances women in medicine, advocates for equity and ensures excellence in health care.

Host Elisa Parker speaks with Rohr about her work on the Capitol to co-create sex equality in healthcare and for reproductive justice. She shares her personal story as a first generation physician, the inequities that still exist in the medical field, including the lask of medical research invested and conducted for women and how the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment could ratify health and wellness for all Americans.

Hosted by nationally acclaimed radio host and Equal Voices Elisa Parker, Equality Talks bridges the intersections of equality, justice, and social activism to unify as a collective and change the status quo.

Equality Talks focuses on the key facets of equality across all communities, including everything from gender, racial, economic and reproductive justice, to labor, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ rights. Programming for the month of July highlights health and wellness, reproductive justice, liberty and freedom and members of the Congressional ERA Caucus.

For more information on Equality Talks go to www.ERACoaltion.org and www.EqualVoice.org.

The ERA Coalition was founded in 2014 to bring concerted, organized action to the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA Coalition has a sister organization, the Fund for Women’s Equality, which promotes public education and outreach on the need for constitutional equality. Composed of more than 290 organizations across the country representing millions of people, the Coalition is a movement of movements focused on overall equality in the United States.

While the effort to amend the constitution to include sex equality began nearly a century ago, our renewed efforts are centered on women of color (African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latina, and Native American), gender-nonconforming and transgender women and girls, and nonbinary people – those who are most impacted by systemic inequities.

www.eracoalition.org | www.fundforwomensequality.org

About Theresa:

Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.M.W.A

California native Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber graduated from California State University, Long Beach,

and Weill College of Medicine at Cornell. Training as an Internist at University Hospitals of

Cleveland, she is a professor of medicine and clinical educator who joined the faculty of

AU/UGA Medical Partnership in March 2021.

A physician advocate, leading efforts to improve the health of women and their families, her

leadership positions include 1st Hispanic president of the American Medical Women’s

Association (AMWA), vice-chair of the American Medical Association (AMA) Women’s Physician

Section, AMA Minority Affairs Governing Council and the Dissemination and Implementation

Steering Committee for the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative with the American College

of OBGYN. An inaugural fellow of AMWA Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber, is the recipient of many

leadership and teaching awards.

As an underrepresented minority professor of medicine, Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber is passionate

about the need for increased diversity in healthcare. Developing programs and mentoring, she

strives to assist physicians and others to find satisfaction in their careers. Teaching to ensure

our future physicians have a well-rounded background in clinical medicine and understand the

social determinants that affect health and wellbeing, her clinical expertise is in primary care for

adults and adolescents, especially those with chronic conditions.

American Medical Women’s Association

To advance women in medicine, advocate for equity, and ensure excellence in

health care.

AMWA Advances Women In Medicine

History and Impact

For over a century, the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) has been committed to the advancement of women in medicine. Although the number of women choosing careers in medicine has grown substantially, there has not been a commensurate rise in women to senior leadership positions. AMWA’s work helps address this gender gap in leadership, through advocacy, mentorship and sponsorship, leadership development, research, constituency building, and policy reform – with a goal for institutional and cultural transformation in gender equity and career parity.

https://www.amwa-doc.org/about-amwa/