Board
Kendra McDow
MD
Dr. Kendra B. McDow is the Medical Officer for the School District of Philadelphia. She is a board-certified pediatrician and CDC-trained medical epidemiologist. As the Medical Officer for the School District of Philadelphia, Dr. McDow's mission is to reduce health-related barriers to learning and support equitable access to health care for students. She advises and collaborates with school nurses, school administrators, and regional healthcare partners and systems on policies, protocols and programming pertaining to the health of students. She serves as a subject matter expert on child health for the District and provides strategic leadership for the Office of Student Health Services.
Dr. McDow previously served as Chief Medical Officer for the Baltimore City Health Department, leading Baltimore's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Prior to joining the Health Department, she completed the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship deploying to multiple national and international field investigations, including circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus outbreak investigation in Ethiopia. She also cared for children and families as a general pediatrician and medical director at a federally qualified health center in Maryland. She is a 2025 Eisenhower Fellow and 2022 National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 under 40 Leader in Minority Health awardee. Dr. McDow was born and raised in Washington, DC and is a proud product of DC Public Schools. She received her B.A. in Biology and Religion from Swarthmore College, M.D. from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and M.P.H. from Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health.