Belinda Pettiford, MPH

Belinda Pettiford has worked for more than 30 years in public health and currently serves as chief of the Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.  In this capacity, she oversees the state’s maternal health, family planning, preconception health, teen pregnancy prevention, sickle cell, and numerous programs focused on equity in birth outcomes.

Belinda has provided leadership for numerous national, state, and local efforts. She co-chairs the Perinatal Health Committee of the NC Child Fatality Task Force (CFTF). The CFTF is a legislative study commission directed by the North Carolina General Assembly.  Belinda also serves as chair of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality (SACIMM) and is a board member with the National Healthy Start Association.  Belinda presently serves as the immediate past president of the Board of Directors for AMCHP.

She received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and undergraduate degrees from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.