May 23, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
McCosh Hall, Room 10

Moderator:

Heather Howard
Professor of the Practice, School of Public and International Affairs

Panelists:

Christina Henderson *12
At-large Councilmember, Council of the District of Columbia

Denny Chin ’75
U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit

Christian Pettker ’95
Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa

Carolyn Smith-Lin ’10
Assistant Professor, Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of New Mexico

Sponsored by the Alumni Association of Princeton University

Participants:

Heather Howard
Heather Howard co-directs the Princeton University Global Health Program and is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Health and Wellbeing. She is also director of the State Health and Value Strategies program, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded program helping states transform their health care systems to be affordable, equitable and innovative. Howard served as New Jersey’s Commissioner of Health and Senior Services from 2008 to 2010. She also has significant federal experience, having worked as Sen. Jon Corzine’s chief of staff, as associate director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and senior policy adviser for first lady Hillary Clinton, as an honors attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Health Care Task Force and for U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey. Howard received her B.A. from Duke University and J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Christina Henderson *12
Christina Henderson is an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. Henderson is known for a commonsense approach to policy, a collaborative working style and centering equity in her work. She has proven herself to be a hard worker and effective legislator securing legislative and budgetary wins to improve maternal and reproductive health, increase pay and benefits for workers, fight food insecurity, advance public safety and safe streets, support small businesses and promote good governance. Henderson currently serves as the chair of the council’s Committee on Health. Prior to her election in 2020, Henderson provided counsel to United States senators, D.C. councilmembers, and state and local education officials on an array of domestic policy issues that deeply impact families and children. Henderson received her B.A. in political science from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and her Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

Denny Chin ’75
Denny Chin is a United States circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was confirmed in 2010 and took senior status in June 2021. From 1994 until his appointment to the Second Circuit, he served as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York. He received his law degree from Fordham Law School and clerked for U.S. District Judge Henry Werker in the Southern District of New York. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and also practiced at several private law firms in New York City. He presently serves as the Lawrence W. Pierce ’51 Distinguished Jurist in Residence and co-director of the Center on Asian Americans and the Law at Fordham Law School. He is a recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award and has served on Princeton’s Board of Trustees.

Christian Pettker ’95
Christian Pettker is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist and maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist in Iowa City, Iowa. His clinical practice focuses on pregnancies complicated by fetal structural and genetic abnormalities and complex maternal medical conditions, and includes abortion care. His administrative and research work focuses on obstetric and health care quality and safety. While at Yale for 20 years, Pettker helped build and oversee hospital and regional patient safety and quality programs. He has led activities and publications by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care. He started as professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa in July 2024, working on efforts related to improving women’s reproductive and health care safety and quality in a state complicated by rural obstetric care deserts, maternity hospital closures and workforce shortages.

Carolyn Smith-Lin ’10
Carolyn Smith-Lin is an obstetrician-gynecologist. A generalist in the true sense of the word, she provides full spectrum reproductive health care for patients of all ages, including vaginal deliveries, C-sections, hysterectomies, contraception, sterilization procedures, menopause care, gender-affirming care and emergency gynecology surgeries. She centers patient autonomy and compassion in her clinical work. Smith-Lin also serves as the course director for the second-year medical student course on reproduction and sexuality at the University of New Mexico and plays an active role in the clinical and surgical training of residents. Prior to her academic position, she worked for a Catholic hospital in Santa Fe and at Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico. Her residency training and medical degree are from Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine. Smith-Lin earned an A.B. in molecular biology with a neuroscience certificate and is a third-generation Princetonian.