Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPH is the Chief Health Equity Officer and Senior Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He has previously served as a Chief Medical Officer within the University of Maryland Medical System and Chair of Pediatrics at the Howard University College of Medicine. He also spent more than two decades in progressive leadership roles at Children's National Hospital while contemporaneously serving 17 years as the State Pediatric Medical Director within the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. Dr. Wright maintains appointments as adjunct professor of emergency medicine and health policy at the George Washington University. Academically, Dr. Wright is among the nation’s original cohort of board-certified pediatric emergency physicians with scholarly interests that include injury prevention, prehospital pediatrics, and the needs of underserved communities. He has contributed over 120 publications to the scientific literature and is an elected member of Alpha Omega Alpha and Delta Omega, the nation's medical and public health honor societies. Dr. Wright has chaired the AAP’s Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Task Force on Addressing Bias and Discrimination, and Board of Director’s Committee on Equity. He is lead author of several Academy policy statements and has been recognized for long-standing leadership as recipient of three career achievement awards for humanitarianism, and for distinguished contributions to the disciplines of emergency medicine and injury prevention. He is recipient of the Academy’s inaugural Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Excellence Award and was recognized by the Academic Pediatric Association with the George Armstrong Award, the University of Maryland's Distinguished Terrapin Award, and George Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award all the most prestigious honors bestowed by those institutions. Dr. Wright provides national leadership through advisory and governance service to health and human service entities including the Association of American Medical Colleges and Safe Kids Worldwide, and previously served as an Obama administration appointee to Food and Drug Administration’s Pediatric Advisory Committee. He regularly presents testimony before Congress, state and municipal legislative bodies, has made numerous media appearances, and lectures widely to professional and lay audiences. He earned a BA from Wesleyan University, MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and Master of Public Health from George Washington University.