Jeanne A. Conry, MD, PhD

Greetings. I am Jeanne Conry, MD, PhD, and I have devoted my career to improving the health and well-being of women.  As an obstetrician gynecologist, I have been fortunate to share in the most intimate moments of a woman’s life, whether that might be giving birth, losing a life, facing cancer, or facing a loss of a loved one.   Women seek guidance from their health care providers, and we seek to help.  But sometimes that help is not enough. Sometimes both questions and answers are complex - and that is what led to my interest in environmental exposures. 

In 2006, I received a simple phone call:  Do women need to worry about lead levels in their lipstick?   WHAT?!  Who knew there was lead in lipstick?  Has it been studied, why is there a need, and who can address the need. WHY is there lead in lipstick.  And, if a physician cannot speak to these needs, who can? 

I realized THEN that women needed guidance and health care providers were not ready to guide.   There exists an awareness gap, a knowledge gap and a research gap.  I also realized that our ability to advocate for what is right has been impacted by legislative and regulatory processes.  It is not enough to advise a patient about what is right, it is as important to change what is wrong.

EHLF is here to assist health care providers through education and advocacy.  We recognize that by empowering regional leaders we will see global health policy change.

In October 2018, Dr. Jeanne Conry was voted President-elect of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), an organization that was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1954 and now represents 130 organizations globally.

Jeanne Conry, MD, PhD was the 64th President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a membership organization representing over 57,000 practicing obstetricians and gynecologists.

She has led guideline development and national policy on the important role of Reproductive Health and the Environment. She is leading the Women's Preventive Services Initiative, a national collaboration to define and implement optimum women's health services across their lifespan.

She has led efforts on Quality and Safety in Maternity Care through improved standards and responses in high risk obstetrics. For twenty-eight years, Dr. Conry was a practicing obstetrician gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente, the largest health maintenance organization in the United States.  

She served in a leadership capacity as the Assistant Physician-in-Chief for Kaiser Permanente's Sacramento Roseville region. She developed the Women and Children's Center, the largest obstetric delivery service in KP. 

Dr. Conry earned her medical degree from the University of California, Davis, where she also completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  She served as an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis.  She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biology from the University of Colorado.

2017- PRESENT

President-elect: The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)

CEO: Environmental Health Leadership Foundation: Consultant to global organizations for implementation of clinical guidance regarding the impact of the environment on health

Consultant to The Forum Institute: Pregnancy to Infancy Program

Chair:  The Women’s Preventive Services Initiative.   On March 1, 2016, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) launched the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI). Through this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration-supported initiative, ACOG is engaging a coalition of national health professional organizations and consumer and patient advocates with expertise in women’s health across the lifespan to develop review and update recommendations for women’s preventive healthcare services.

1997-2017

Assistant Physician in Chief, North Valley, The Permanente Medical Group

● Supervised: The Women and Children’s Hospital, Roseville; Pediatric Subspecialty and Surgical Services, Wellness, Health Promotion and Marketing; Durable Medical Equipment; and Outside Medical Services. Coordinated efforts for the largest maternity service area in northern California TPMG. Supervised the Departments of Women’s Health, Adult Medicine, Chronic Conditions Management, Head and Neck Surgery, Mental Health, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Chronic Pain, Member Services, Orthopedic Surgery, Podiatry, and Regional Department of Spinal Reconstruction from 1997 through 2014

● Led: Women and Children’s Center Design and Production Team, designed 174 bed tertiary care hospital with 24 labor bed unit. Includes: 10 bed antepartum unit, 60 bed postpartum unit, intensive care, neonatal intensive care unit

1995-1997

Assistant Chief, Roseville, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, supervised ten physicians and six nurse practitioners, Oversaw all outpatient clinical operations for 250,000 patient members

1990-2017

Staff Physician, Roseville, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Routine Gynecologic and Obstetric care: outpatient and inpatient surgery with labor and delivery

1981-1982

Chief Scientist, Henningson, Durham and Richardson Environmental Consultants, Santa Barbara, California. Supervised environmental research on vertebrates for the MX missile basing systems, the largest environmental impact study in the United States. Data analysis and site surveys

1978-1981

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Colorado, Denver. Supervised Introductory Biology course and labs; taught Introductory Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Desert Ecology, and Ecology. Post-doctoral research in Arctic and Alpine ecology. I worked at the Ikaluit Research Station on Baffin Island, Canada, near Greenland

EDUCATION

● 1986-1990 Residency, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Davis

●  1982-1986 Medical Degree, University of California, Davis

● 1974-1978 Doctor of Philosophy Degree, University of Colorado,   Boulder

● 1970-1974 Bachelor of Arts Degree, California State University Chico

AMERICAN CONGRESS OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS

Past President (2015- present)

● Chair: Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (2016-2021)

● Member, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Executive Board

President of ACOG (2013 – 2014)

● National Maternal Health Initiative implementation

● Reproductive Health and the Environment Initiative,

● Well Woman Task Force

● Global Health efforts with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Canada

Executive Board ACOG California (1999-2011)

● Oversaw ACOG state office with an executive director, lobbyist, and staff who support legislative efforts, Fellows, District activities, communications and women’s health in California, finances and state treasurer

International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (2015- present)

Member, Executive Board, Co-Director: FIGO Working Group on Reproductive and Developmental Environmental Health and Co-Author FIGO Opinion: Reproductive Health Impacts of Exposure to Toxic Environmental Chemicals (2015) and work group lead

Appointments 2014-2017

Member, Department of Health & Human Services, National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council (NAEHSC) (2014 - present), Member, UCSF Pregnancy Exposure to Environmental Chemicals (PEEC) Children’s Center, External Advisory Committee (EAC) (2014 – present), Member, National Business Group on Heath, National Committee on Evidence-Based Benefit Design (NCEBBD) (2014 – 2015), Member, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Global Operations Advisory Group (2011 to present)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Chair, Second International Summit on Preconception Health (2007) Member of Select Panel on Preconception Care (2006- present)

Awards and Fellowships:

2016 Physician of the Year: Placer County Medical Society,

2016: Outstanding Alumnus Award: California State University, Chico

2014 The United States House of Representatives acknowledged Dr. Conry for accomplishments in women’s health and entered a commendation into the Congressional Record

 2013 The Visionary Leadership Award from the University of California

PUBLICATIONS

●  Giudice, Linda, Tracey Woodruff, Jeanne Conry. 2017. Reproductive and Developmental environmental health. Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ogrm.2016.12.004

●  Di Renzo, Gian Carlo, Jeanne A. Conry, Jennifer Blake, Mark.DeFrancesco, Nathaniel DeNicola, James N. Martin Jr., Kelly A. McCue, David Richmond, Abid Shah, PatriceSutton, Tracey J. Woodruff, Sheryl Ziemin van der Poel, Linda C. Giudice. 2015. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics opinion on reproductive health impacts of exposure to toxic environmental chemicals. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 131 (2015) 219-225

 ●  Stotland NE, Sutton P, Trowbridge J, Atchley DS, Conry J, Trasande L, et al. 2014. Counseling Patients on Preventing Prenatal Environmental Exposures - A Mixed-Methods Study of Obstetricians. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098771

●  Sutton P, Woodruff TJ, Perron J, Stotland N, Conry JA, Miller MD, Giudice LC. 2012. Toxic environmental chemicals: the role of reproductive health professionals in preventing harmful exposures. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 207(3):164-73. PMID: 22405527

●  Coonrod,J et al. 2008. Preconception Health and Health Care: The Clinical Content of Preconception Care. AJOG. Dec 2008. vol 199, 6B: S290. Immunizations as part of preconception care (Coonrod, Jack, Boggess, Long, Conry, Cox, Cefalo, Hunter, Pizzica, Dunlop). S296 Infectious diseases in preconception care (Coonrod, Jack, Stubblefield, Hollier, Boggess, Cefalo, Cox, Dunlop, Hunter, Prasad, Lu, Conry, Gibbs, Hogan