Mercer University School of Medicine has announced Renee McLeod-Sordjan, D.N.P, Ph.D., as the featured speaker for the 2026 Greenberg-Williams Lectureship. The free lecture, presented virtually on Zoom, will take place at noon on Nov. 11. Register for the free virtual event here.
McLeod-Sordjan will deliver a lecture titled “Ethical Community Engagement: A Justice-Centered Approach to Advancing Maternal Health Equity.” A nationally-recognized leader in clinical ethics, health equity and graduate nursing education, she serves as the founding dean of graduate education nursing at Morehouse School of Medicine.
McLeod-Sordjan is also the system chair of ethics at Northwell Health, where she oversees one of the nation’s largest clinical ethics programs and leads system-wide ethics consultation, education and policy development. Her work focuses on integrating ethical frameworks into real-world clinical decision-making, particularly in areas of health disparities, end-of-life care, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
A clinician-scholar with advanced preparation as a nurse practitioner in family, acute and palliative care, McLeod-Sordjan serves in prominent roles across professional organizations, including president of Empire State Bioethics Consortium and president-elect of American Bioethics Program Directors.
“Dr. McLeod-Sordjan is a national and international expert on the topic of our maternal health crisis, especially in our rural communities,” said Brian Childs, Ph.D., chair of MUSM’s bioethics and medical humanities department. “She is also a broadly published scholar and a gifted clinical ethicist who has mentored many ethics clinicians. We are blessed to have her be the speaker for the 2026 Greenberg-Williams Lectureship.”
About the Greenberg-Williams Lectureship
Named for Martin Greenberg, M.D., and Stephen Williams, M.D., the Greenberg-Williams Lectureship features nationally leading figures in bioethics and medical humanities with a special emphasis on healthcare for rural underserved populations. Topics include not only bioethical issues but also the arts, literature and religion as they apply to an understanding of medicine, illness and human well-being. Support for the lectureship is made possible through a gift to the Dr. Martin Greenberg fund, established by Greenberg’s family after he passed away in 2021.
