Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan
I am driven by a commitment to disability and social justice and health equity. I work to transform systems of care by building partnerships with people who have lived expertise, addressing interconnected health, social, and community needs.
Senior Project Director and Co-Director of the Social Work Innovation Lab Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan leads initiatives that spark interdisciplinary systems innovation to advance humanistic and equitable services inclusive of public health social work. Her work involves guiding program leaders in strategic systems-level improvements, building capacity in health and social systems to partner effectively with people with lived expertise, particularly those with complex health and social needs and families/care partners across the life course. Towards this end, she advances quantitative and qualitative methods to impact real human needs. She also has keen interest in applying emerging technologies for care innovation.
For over 24 years, Bethlyn worked at the intersection of social work and public health, focusing on disability justice and health equity. At the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, she is sparking interdisciplinary community-driven innovation. She leads and co-leads systems change projects, including as a consortium member for the National Coordinating Center for a System of Services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics, where she provides TA and training to public health leaders, alongside family and community leaders. As co-principal investigator of the Future of Care for Children with Medical Complexity Virtual Café Series, she leads the development of an urgent framework for action to drive humanistic care for children with medical complexity and their families. She also serves as associate director of community-driven innovation for the Smart Tech for Paralysis Hub at the University of Pittsburgh.
Over the last few years, she led key informant interviews for the DIVERSE Collective, considering actionable strategies that improve systems of care for multiply marginalized children with disabilities. As co-principal onvestigator of the Partners in Pediatric Readiness, Emergency Preparedness, and Response Education curriculum, co-designed by and for families and first responders of children with medical complexity, Bethlyn developed an implementation guide resource. She co-edited a Pediatrics journal supplement. sharing insights from the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity, as lead author on several articles, including What Families of Children With Medical Complexity Say They Need: Humanism in Care Delivery Change.
Previously, Bethlyn served almost 20 years in progressive leadership roles at Boston University (BU) School of Public Health, where she directed research and implementation projects for people living with spinal cord injury, including innovative telehealth interventions. As project director for My Care My Call, she led the development and successful testing of a peer-led health empowerment intervention that improved health self-management behaviors. She has served on lead teams that designed systems change convenings; virtual, in-person, and hybrid educational forums and trainings; and related dissemination products. She has presented at both national and international conferences, and published peer-reviewed and grey literature.
Bethlyn earned Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health degrees in from BU, with concentrations in program planning and development, and social and behavioral science. At Tufts University, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in clinical psychology and a Community Health Certificate. Her interdisciplinary education has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the social drivers of health and the skills to address complex health and social challenges through systemic approaches centering social justice.
