Margaret Mary (Maggie) Downey, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at the Tulane University School of Social Work, where her teaching and research focus on the social and structural determinants of health, particularly those affecting reproductive and maternal health outcomes. An interdisciplinary scholar, educator, and former doula, Dr. Downey brings deep expertise in reproductive justice, health inequities, and structural competency to her work with students, healthcare providers, and communities.
As the Paul Tudor Jones II Professor of Social Entrepreneurship, Dr. Downey will advance interdisciplinary research and community-engaged practice at the intersection of healthcare and social innovation. Her work will center on the development of an equity-informed, patient-centered decision-making tool that supports individuals and families navigating contraception, fertility, and pregnancy. In collaboration with birth workers, clinicians, and patient communities across New Orleans, she will also co-design and pilot a training program for healthcare providers and students to address the root causes of racial and economic disparities in reproductive care.
Dr. Downey’s scholarship draws from Black feminist theory, reproductive justice frameworks, and street-level bureaucracy to examine how structural factors and frontline health workers shape policy in practice. Her ethnographic research explores how everyday clinical decisions impact reproductive outcomes and seeks to shift the focus of health interventions from individual behavior to systemic change.
She is the co-Principal Investigator on a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development award (with Dr. Maeve Wallace, University of Arizona) examining provider and survivor perspectives on screening for intimate partner violence during and after pregnancy. She also leads a Newcomb Institute-funded project on the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in street health clinics. Her work has been recognized with the NIH BIRCWH Award, Tulane’s Committee on Research Award, and the American Public Health Association’s New Investigator Award.
Dr. Downey holds a B.A. in English Literature from Temple University, an M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed post-baccalaureate studies in Health & Societies and Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Grounded in a commitment to health equity and systemic change, she brings a community-centered approach to her work at the Taylor Center and beyond.