Judy Schaechter, M.D., M.B.A., division director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, and professor emerita of pediatrics at the University of Miami has been appointed as chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and UVM Health and chief of pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health, effective July 1, 2026. The announcement was made by Richard L. Page, M.D., dean of the Larner College of Medicine and chief medical affairs officer at UVM, and Ramsey Herrington, M.D., UVM Health Medical Group president and CEO, UVM Health chief physician executive, and senior associate dean for clinical affairs at the Larner College of Medicine.

“Dr. Schaechter brings an outstanding breadth of accomplishment in pediatric care, health policy, and academic leadership. I am confident that she will build on Dr. First’s legacy to accelerate excellence in clinical care, education, research, and community service.” — Richard L. Page, M.D.

Dr. Schaechter succeeds Lewis First, M.D., M.S., who joined the University of Vermont in 1994 as professor and chair of pediatrics and has served in these roles ever since, making him the longest-serving pediatric department chair in the nation. 

As chair of the Department of Pediatrics and chief of pediatrics, Schaechter will oversee the department’s clinical, research, and educational missions. The department has a long-standing reputation for exceptional clinical care, a vibrant research environment, and excellence in the education and training of medical students, residents, and fellows.

The Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health and the Department of Pediatrics encompass six academic hospital sites and five primary care locations across Vermont and northern New York. They also include a Children’s Specialty Care Center offering more than 20 pediatric subspecialties, as well as comprehensive inpatient services—ranging from general pediatric and nursery care to pediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care.

“Dr. Schaechter brings an outstanding breadth of accomplishment in pediatric care, health policy, and academic leadership,” Dean Page said. “I am confident that she will build on Dr. First’s legacy to accelerate excellence in clinical care, education, research, and community service.”

Schaechter recently served as president and chief executive officer of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and the ABP Foundation. From 2012 to 2020, she held the George E. Batchelor Endowed Chair in Child Health and served as chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She continues to care for children in Miami at Jackson Health Systems and the University of Miami pediatric practice.

“It is incredibly exciting to join the teams at UVM Larner College of Medicine, UVM Health, and the Golisano Children’s Hospital,” Schaechter said. “I especially look forward to partnering with the pediatric faculty and staff, both to honor the department’s long-standing record of excellence across the four missions of academic child health, and to advance discovery, education, innovation, health promotion, and care delivery, so that the region’s children and families receive the care they need and deserve.” 

“Under Dr. Schaechter’s leadership, UVM Health will continue to expand access to comprehensive, compassionate, high-quality care, and I am confident that Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health will become a recognized center of excellence in rural pediatric care.” — Ramsey Herrington, M.D.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and an elected member of the American Pediatric Society, Academic Pediatric Association, and National Medical Association, Schaechter spent a year as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, participating in the policy process with the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Subcommittee on Children and Families, now the Subcommittee on Education and the American Family. She earned her M.D. from the Stanford University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Miami School of Business and certification in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. In Miami, she has contributed to child health social driver initiatives, including school health, home visitation, early education, and inclusion programs.

“Under Dr. Schaechter’s leadership, UVM Health will continue to expand access to comprehensive, compassionate, high-quality care, and I am confident that Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health will become a recognized center of excellence in rural pediatric care,” said Dr. Herrington.