Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 1, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 9 BY SARA BEDIGIAN Special to WBJ D r. Crista Johnson-Agbak- wu leads efforts to serve marginalized communi- ties in Greater Worcester, becoming a leading voice for health equity. As the first executive director of the Collaborative of Health Equity at UMass Chan Medical School, Johnson-Ag- bakwu has advanced partnerships and created initiatives toward this work, specifically focused on women and reproductive health. For 25 years, she has served as an OB-GYN physician, working to provide care to underrepre- sented populations. "I remain committed to serving and elevating voices and advocating for pol- icies and practices that center the voices of those most marginalized," she said. "Especially during the current environ- ment as we are immersed in right now, where we see right before our eyes daily, the impact of policies on those most vulnerable." In her role as director of health equity, a core pillar of her work has been advancing maternal health equity. Over the last two years in April, she and her team raised awareness across Worcester by engaging in educational outreach and community advocacy for the national Black Maternal Health Week. From partnering with the City of Worcester to host community forums or with local community organizations like the YWCA Central Massachusetts, she has mobilized the community to learn about issues facing Black mothers. "I'm not sure I've ever seen somebody come into a new community and be as immediately and deeply both embraced and embedded in the work," said Tiffany Moore Simas, chair Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMass Memorial Health. "Crista is somebody whose heart is deeply embedded to where she is." Johnson- Agbakwu strives to hear the voices of the members of the communi- ties she serves, which drives her work, Moore Simas said. "If we just look at the diversity of the team that she's put together, the diversity of the community organizations she convenes to inform the work that is being done to address health equity, it's truly remarkable," Moore Simas said. As professor of obstetrics and gyne- cology at UMass Memorial Health, John- son-Agbakwu works to educate learners and support faculty in their work of leading health equity initiatives too. Johnson-Agbakwu leads the charge for health equity Growing up in Hartford, her parents were dedicated to community service, advocating for educational services, citizenship, and other social needs for immigrants. Despite being embedded in the local Caribbean American commu- nity in the city, as a second-generation American and a Black woman, she said there was not a lot of representation of physicians of color. is upbringing had a profound im- pact on her life, she said. She found the importance of mentorship and represen- tation in health care and became the first physician in her family. One of her role models is Claudia omas, the first Black female ortho- pedic surgeon in the U.S., who John- son- Agbakwu shadowed during her undergraduate years at John Hopkins University. omas told her countless physicians do good work, but Johnson- Agbakwu needed to set her sights on something higher and work to impact entire populations. "ose are words that she gave me as I was graduating from Johns Hopkins back in 1996, and it's literally been my guiding light that has literally guided the entire trajectory of my career," she said. "e responsibility to li as I climb and reach back and bring others along, just as she and others have held me up and supported me." Johnson-Agbakwu became involved in refugee and migrant health in med- ical school and served populations of newly arrived immigrants from coun- tries where female genital mutilation was common. "is is when I first found my voice in terms of advocacy for disenfranchised, underserved, and vulnerable popula- tions," she said. "I saw the impact of our health system and some of the challeng- es providing … trauma-informed care for these communities." Before returning to her roots in New England, she spent 15 years of her career building the first clinic of its kind to serve refugees and migrants in Phoenix. She served 16,000 patients and built a workforce of community health workers, who had shared lived experiences and spoke the languages of the patients. Outside of her medical accomplish- ments, Johnson-Agbakwu serves on the Worcester Refugee and Immigrant Support and Empowerment board, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's maternal task force, and hosts conversations on Worcester Unity Ra- dio's Talking Wellness. PHOTO | COURTESY OF DR. CRISTA JOHNSON-AGBAKWU H E A LT H C A R E F O C U S Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu Professor, obstetrics & gynecology at UMass Memorial Health, and executive director of Collaborative in Health Equity at UMass Chan Medical School, in Worcester Education: Bachelor's degree from The Johns Hopkins University; medical degree from Weill Cornell Medicine; residency and fellowships at George Washington University (OB/GYN residen- cy), UCLA (fellowship in female sexual medicine); and master's degree from University of Michigan What are the best and worst aspects of working in health care? Best: Advocating for patients whose voices are often unheard and ensuring they're seen, heard, and cared for with dignity. It's a humble privilege to lead that charge alongside committed colleagues. Worst: Confronting systemic barriers to health equity, knowing we can't give up, because silence and inaction are never options in this work. Physician of the Year W

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