Arlene Cullum, MPH serves as the Director of Special Projects, a faculty position in the Stanford University School of Medicine. In this role, Arlene is utilized to create collaborative and innovative approaches to implementing evidence-based practices to improve maternal morbidity and mortality in California. She provided a lead role for the development of an approach to assess adverse childhood and adult adversities in prenatal care. She is currently providing input toward a new Birthing Care Pathway of evidence-based services for birthing individuals in California and assisting with the HRSA Maternal Innovations Award for California.
Prior to her role at Stanford, Arlene developed and administered best practices in outpatient maternal and child health programs, clinics and ancillary support services at the hospital, health department and community clinic levels for almost four decades. She provided national and state leadership in Maternal and Child Health providing input on public policy and advocacy and consultation on suggested changes to State funded health care services for women and children with special healthcare needs. Arlene was the originator of Preconception Health Care Council of California and Select Panel member of the US Surgeon General’s Select Panel on Preconception Health and Health Care. She was the Initiator of convening public policy stakeholders (California Hospital Association, the American College of OB-Gyns, the March of Dimes, and others) to implement Maternal Levels of Care in California hospitals. Arlene was named the National Volunteer of the Year for The March of Dimes, 2020. She holds a BS in Human Development from UC Davis and an MPH degree in Maternal Child Health from UCLA.