UC Berkeley MCAH Leadership, Education, and Advancement in Undergraduate Pathways (LEAP) Program prepares the next generation of health leaders and professionals to solve the health challenges of women, children, and families. The mission of the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health is to promote and protect the hea
lth and well-being of women, infants, children, adolescents and their families through training, research, continuing education, service and advocacy. Achieving optimal health outcomes in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) requires a representative workforce that is prepared to address the complex needs of increasingly diverse MCAH populations and trained to lead evidence-based, innovative efforts to reduce health disparities and promote health equity. The UCB MCAH LEAP Training Program is designed to prepare diverse future leaders who are family-centered, culturally responsive, and successful in navigating interprofessional systems of care in the service of MCAH populations to reduce health inequities. The program seeks to provide MCAH support for undergraduate students who come from educationally and economically disadvantaged and racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. LEAP program activities include outreach and engagement events, MCAH panels/film screenings, MCAH academic advising open to all undergraduate LEAP Student Affiliates. LEAP activities are conducted in collaboration with academic centers, scholar programs, and student groups serving diverse and underrepresented students, including UCSF’s academic medical school and Leadership and Education in Adolescent Health program.
