Kendra B. McDow, MD, MPH, FAAP
Kendra B. McDow, MD, MPH, FAAP
Chief Medical Officer
Baltimore City Health Department
Kendra B. McDow MD, MPH, FAAP joined the Baltimore City Health Department as Chief Medical Officer in October 2020. Dr. McDow is a board-certified pediatrician and CDC trained medical epidemiologist. As Baltimore City Health Department's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. McDow led the City's COVID vaccination campaign from December 2020 - August 2021 and currently co-leads the COVID operations section. She also oversees the Local Health Improvement Coalition and the health department's growing care coordination strategy. Dr. McDow provides clinical and public health expertise and consultation to health department programs. Connecting with Baltimore City residents at townhalls, neighborhood association meetings and community events is her favorite part of the job.
Prior to joining the Health Department, she completed the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship, where she deployed and provided technical assistance for multiple domestic and international field investigations, including measles outbreak in New York and circulating vaccine derived poliovirus outbreak in Ethiopia. She also led the Telehealth and Implementation Unit within the Health Systems Coordination Team in CDC’s COVID-19 response structure. Under her leadership the Unit published research on telehealth implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded the development of Clinician Outreach and Communication Call series on telehealth implementation and health equity.
She previously practiced at CCI Health & Wellness Services, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Maryland where she was Health Center Medical Director and medical consultant for Reach Out and Read, a national early literacy program for children and families. Dr. McDow’s clinical interests are early child development, adolescent health, supporting caregivers and parents and promotion of school readiness.
Outside of her role as CMO, she is a volunteer mentor to a college student through Capital Partners for Education and serves as a physician advisor for Wolomi, a digital community supporting pregnant women of color to help improve maternal health outcomes.
Dr. McDow received her B.A. in Biology and Religion from Swarthmore College. She earned her medical degree from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Master of Public Health from The Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.
Dr. McDow completed pediatric residency at the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics