Liberty Fellows receive national recognition for tackling issues with global significance
August 2, 2016
GREENVILLE, SC – Liberty Fellows Amy Crockett, M.D. (pictured), and Peter Barth recently received national recognition for leading initiatives that address two of society’s most intractable problems – preterm birth and sourcing a qualified workforce.
The Aspen Institute and the John P. McNulty Foundation named Crockett a John P. McNulty Prize Laureate for her Liberty Fellowship project – expanding the CenteringPregnancy model of group prenatal care. Crockett is one of four Laureates selected from within the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), which includes more than 2100 Fellows from leadership programs in 14 countries. Barth, Co-founder and CEO of The Iron Yard, was one of six Fellows in the AGLN selected to participate in the Braddock Scholars Program. Designed to support Fellows who are leading innovative organizations, the Program provides a mix of high level mentorship, peer-learning and discretionary grant capital to the selected participants.
“The work Amy and Peter are doing in their respective fields is chipping away at pervasive issues we face not only in South Carolina, but worldwide,” commented Luanne Runge, President and CEO of Liberty Fellowship. “Recognition on the global stage that is the Aspen Institute brings opportunities for them to amplify their efforts and, frankly, change more lives.”
An obstetrician and researcher with Greenville Health System, Crockett began offering the CenteringPregnancy model at her practice in 2009. Within two years, outcomes showed reductions in preterm birth, fewer admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit, better attendance at post-partum family planning visits and higher rates of breastfeeding, among other results. Importantly, racial disparities also narrowed. Determined to make the program viable statewide and accessible to more patients, Crockett convinced Medicaid and private insurers in South Carolina to back the program. Today, CenteringPregnancy is offered in 14 practices in the state and is expanding, and Crockett is looking at ways to replicate the reimbursement model nationally.
During his work several years ago with Greenville’s NEXT Innovation Center, Barth recognized a critical need for local software engineering talent. He co-founded The Iron Yard in 2010 and has led their rapid expansion to 22 locations in the United States and London. The company specializes in technology education, training programmers through an intensive 12-week vocational program and working closely with employers in each market to customize the curriculum relevant to job needs there.
About Liberty Fellowship
Liberty Fellowship is a statewide initiative that seeks to inspire outstanding leadership in South Carolina, empowering the state’s young leaders to realize their full potential. Fostering a values-based approach, the Fellow program exposes leaders to diverse perspectives, critical thinking, and intellectual and personal development. Established in 2004 and including over 250 Fellows from across South Carolina, the program is a collaboration of co-founders Anna Kate and Hayne Hipp, Wofford College and The Aspen Institute. For more information, visit www.libertyfellowshipsc.org.
