NICHQ Employee Spotlight: Isabel Zuckoff

Full name and title: Isabel Zuckoff, MPH

Job Title: Project Director (National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives and Maternal Health Action & Resource Center)

Key Projects: National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC) and Maternal Health Action & Resource Center (MHARC) 

Time with NICHQ: 5 years and 10 months (Joined NICHQ July 2019) 

How has your background led you to join a children’s health organization? 

I’m excited to answer this question because one thing many people may not know about me is that I actually started my career at NICHQ many years ago — and working at NICHQ is what ultimately led me to a career in public health and specifically, maternal and child health. As an undergraduate, I majored in Sociology, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it after college, and I didn’t feel passionate or drawn to any particular career path. I’d done some event planning internships during college, however, and when I saw a job posting at NICHQ for a Project Coordinator, with event planning skills needed, I was thrilled to apply because I could use some of the skills I’d gained in those internships, but apply them in a role within an organization doing really important work. Over the course of my two years as a Project Coordinator, I learned about Quality Improvement science, public health, and maternal and child health through the projects I was working on. It wasn’t long before I knew what my passion was. So, I went back to school for my Master of Public Health, spent some time working in New York City, and then found myself back at NICHQ six years later.

How do you plan to incorporate your past experiences in your current role as NICHQ’s Project Director for the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC)? 

During my first time working at NICHQ and the time I spent working for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, I got the chance to use the Model for Improvement and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series Model on a variety of different topics. Those included education about safe sleep practices, improved hearing screening, and entry into early intervention and increased breastfeeding rates in hospitals. Running a quality improvement initiative has given me a better understanding of what Perinatal Quality Collaboratives do within their states. And that’s enabled me to find ways to support them and provide the training and technical assistance they need.   

You’ve worked with the NNPQC in a variety of roles for many years. As the Project Director, what are you most looking forward to accomplishing with PQCs this year?

I’m really looking forward to hosting our NNPQC Annual Meeting in New Orleans in May. The Annual Meeting is such a special time when we have the opportunity to bring together PQCs from every state and the District of Columbia for two days to connect, learn, and share their accomplishments with each other. This year we’ll have PQCs presenting their latest improvement work on topics ranging from substance use disorder to maternal hemorrhage, to hypertension and cardiac conditions, to neonatal issues, and many more.  

I’m also looking forward to collecting our third year of annual assessment data from PQCs and getting to look across the last three years at the impact NNPQC has had on their ability to accomplish the important work they’re doing.

You are also a part of the Maternal Health Action & Resource Center (MHARC) team. What is your role on the project, and what are some short- and long-term goals for the initiative? 

On the Maternal Health Action & Resource Center, I serve as the Project Director overseeing the partnerships and policy analysis work and supporting the Executive Project Director, Dr. Stacey Penny, with general project oversight. The goal of this project is to provide capacity building assistance, training, and technical assistance to State Maternal Health Innovation awardees and other Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau award recipients. Over the course of the project, we’ll broadly share and disseminate information about evidence-based strategies and guidance with the purpose of enhancing and strengthening recipients’ ability to improve maternal health outcomes for all populations in their communities, as a way to advance maternal health nationally. 

You have experience working on multiple projects during your time with NICHQ. What does NICHQ’s mission mean to you? 

NICHQ’s mission is integral to the work we do every day. I view our mission as a north star for why we do the work we do, and I refer to it often when challenges arise. Our commitment to changing systems to improve outcomes and reduce maternal morbidity and mortality and infant mortality means working each day to improve the care delivery system in our country so that every mother and child achieves their optimal health.  

Looking back at your career so far, what accomplishment are you most proud of?  

I’m proud of a lot of things I’ve accomplished thus far in my career, but a recent one was being a co-writer on the Maternal Health Action and Resource Center proposal and learning we’d won it. It was so fun to design the project with Dr. Stacey Penny — and now we get to bring it to life! 

Who or what inspires you professionally? 

I am constantly inspired by my colleagues and friends in this field. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more passionate group of people than the ones fighting for better health outcomes for moms and babies. The people at NICHQ, at our partner organizations, and our funders are so dedicated to this work and that is truly amazing to see.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? 

When I was really little and learning to ski, I had an instructor notice that I was feeling intimidated by how much better some of the other kids were. She told me to “fake it ‘til you make it,” which I took to mean project confidence until you really feel confident in your abilities. That piece of advice has gotten me through many situations when I’ve had imposter syndrome or felt like I was out of my depths professionally. 

What’s one thing you wish people knew about your job? 

I wish people knew how rewarding it is to wake up and get to do a job where I feel like I’m making a difference in people’s lives. The work we do at NICHQ is so important, and it’s an honor to get to do it alongside so many amazing, smart, hardworking, kind people.