Rachel Villanueva
Legislative Policy Conference
Rachel Villanueva
Rachel Villanueva, MD FACOG is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She earned a BS degree in Biology at Yale University and MD degree, cum laude, from the Yale School of Medicine. She is a board certified in OB/GYN and practices in New York City.
Dr. Villanueva is a woman’s health expert and advocate, committed to reproductive justice, health equity, workforce diversity, and disease prevention. Having served as Chair of the Board and Speaker-House of Delegates, she is now the 122nd President of the National Medical Association, the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization representing African-American physicians and patients. She is the first former President of the Student National Medical Association to become President of the NMA. Dr. Villanueva is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Alumni in Yale Medicine; spearheading the creation of a DEI subcommittee. As a fellow of the American College of OB/GYN, she served on the Pregnancy and Heart Disease Task Force, and currently on the Health Equity Subcommittee of the District 2 Safe Motherhood Initiative. She serves on the steering committee of the National Academy of Medicine Clinician Well-Being Action Collaborative, and the Health Policy Advisory Council and Council on Health Equity and Wellness for Centene. She serves on the clinical advisory board for Mae, a digital health platform for Black expectant mothers, and as a medical advisor to Expect, a streaming app that provides at-home prenatal fitness classes. Dr. Villanueva has been named one of the Influential African–American and Caribbean New Yorkers in Health as well as one of the Top Black Physicians in New York City by The Network Journal on numerous occasions. She is an avid snowboarder, Bikram Yogi and tennis player, and is a proud native New Yorker of Haitian descent.