Beth Zimmerman, HSR Health Promotion Practice Area Lead, assists HSR clients with technical assistance (TA), evaluation, and policy development activities to promote the health of individuals and populations, with a particular focus on women and children. An articulate facilitator, she serves as the coordinator and moderator of an ongoing series of Internet audioconferences on timely maternal and child health data and policy issues. At the Federal, State, and local levels, Ms. Zimmerman provides TA to help build comprehensive systems of health care for children and their families. Recently, her efforts have focused on systems to improve children's oral health. She works closely with her clients to plan and execute workshops and expert meetings, surveys, policy briefs, presentations, evaluation plans, and other strategic tools and products.
A member of HSR's team of dedicated professionals since 1993, Ms. Zimmerman possesses indepth expertise in the conduct of process evaluations for programs serving vulnerable populations. She directed the first national evaluation of the Bright Futures for Infants, Children, and Adolescents Initiative for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. She has also led studies of service delivery systems for children with special health care needs, including a study exploring barriers to and strategies for improving integration between physical and mental health services. She also participated in a national study exploring access to family planning and perinatal services for pregnant women, and an evaluation of a national project designed to reduce infant mortality, among others.
Before joining HSR, Ms. Zimmerman worked for the Center for Health Policy Studies of the National Governors Association. In that post, she collected and analyzed information on strategies used by States to improve Medicaid programs for pregnant women and children. She has a master's degree in maternal and child health from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health and a bachelor's in neuroscience from Oberlin College.
