Biography
Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew is an international diversity, inclusion and equity expert, maternal/infant health care equity advocate, global healthcare strategist, OB/Gyn, professor, public speaker and author. She is the Senior Vice President/Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer of Allegheny Health Network / Highmark Enterprise in Pittsburgh, PA and Academic Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Drexel University. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew is also the founder/CEO/President of JUSTWONDOOR, a nonprofit that aims to educate global medical providers and reduce maternal/infant mortality through local and international health care collaborations.
Her passion for advocating for health equity and building programs that aim to improve outcomes for women, people of color, vulnerable and marginalized communities has been a common thread throughout her highly-respected 30-year career and commitment to ongoing service. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew is recognized for her strategy and expertise both regionally and around the globe. Her expert insight has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Swiss Radio International, national podcasts, local television, and radio stations. She has consulted for and authored articles for several health organizations and publications and is also a frequent speaker on healthcare strategy, DEI in the workforce and in our communities, women’s health and wellness issues.
She is the recipient of many honors and awards for her work, including the prestigious Crain’s Business Magazine “Woman of Note” award, an Athena Award nomination, “Top Docs” by Cleveland Magazine, and the YMCA’s “Distinguished Woman” Awards (Pittsburgh and Cleveland). Within the last two years, Larkins-Pettigrew was the recipient of Women in BIO’s P.O.W.E.R. award, named a Woman of Influence by the Pittsburgh Business Times and a two-time honoree on Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders list. Larkins-Pettigrew is a four-time Anthem Awards recipient in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion categories, including two gold medals for Leader of the Year and two silver for Best Strategy and Partnership or Collaboration. Most recently, she was named to Savoy Magazine's 2022 list of the Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America, Becker's Hospital Review's list of DEI Officers to Know, 75 Black Health Care Leaders to Know and is recognized among 2023’s 149 Black Healthcare Leaders to Know.
Larkins-Pettigrew is also the author of her autobiography, The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness with History, Family, Fear, and Faith, a personal and professional testament to the experiences that guide her grit and success navigating race, sexism, politics to become a changemaker, inspire hope and for a more a promising path.
