Cheryl Lynn Walker-McGill, MD, MBA
President and CEO
American Health Strategies

Recently honored by the Duke University Baldwin Scholars Program as a pioneer, Dr. Cheryl Lynn Walker is the President and CEO of American Health Strategies Institute, an organization dedicated to the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions designed for improving health outcomes in multicultural communities.  Prior to launching American Health Strategies Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Walker was the President and CEO of the Kerr L. White Institute for Health Services Research in Decatur, Georgia.

Dr. Walker is a physician researcher dedicated to improving access to quality health care for all Americans.  Dr. Walker has experience in clinical trials and in qualitative and quantitative research.  Some of her recent activities have included serving as principal investigator for a study examining the differences in asthma severity among African Americans in rural, urban and suburban Georgia; conducting a follow up study of the Project Impact Clinical Trials Training Program for The National Medical Association, and serving as an investigator for an AHRQ funded study, Managed Care, Financial Incentive and Physician Practice.  Dr. Walker also has hosted numerous workshops for primary care physicians addressing disparities in asthma management and outcomes, women’s health, health care delivery and access to care in America.

Dr. Walker earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University.  She completed her residency training in internal medicine and subspecialty training in allergy and immunology at Northwestern University.  She served on the faculty at Northwestern for twelve years.  In 1996, Dr. Walker received her MBA from the University of Chicago.  Dr. Walker has expertise in asthma management, medical education programs for primary care physicians, school health education programs, developing strategies for improving clinical and cost outcomes of chronic disease management, and clinical trials.

Dr. Walker is the author of Wheezy Wanda Goes Out to Play and she is the creator of, the Wheezy Wanda Asthma Education Program for the Chicago Public School System.  In 2001, she hosted the Wheezy Wanda Asthma Awareness Day with the White Sox for one thousand children, parents and teacher.  Later that year, Dr. Walker received the Certificate of Excellence, Distinguished Achievement in Asthma Education Award from the Chicago Public School System.  In 2006, Dr. Walker created the Hey Doc, I Need to Know health literacy program.  Dr. Walker, a Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, is a nationally recognized speaker on improving asthma outcomes in multicultural and underserved patient populations.  She serves on several advisory boards and she is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American Medical Association, the National Medical , and AcademyHealth.  Dr. Walker has been featured in The American Medical Association News, The New York Times and on The View.