Dr Jennefer Russo, MD, MPH

Jennefer Russo, MD, MPH is an obstetrician-gynecologist who is a national expert on contraception and abortion. She has served as the Vice Chair of a large county hospital obstetrics and gynecology department and in leadership roles at Planned Parenthood affiliates. She is currently the Senior Medical Advisor for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. From 2012 to 2019, Dr. Russo was the Medical Director and Vice President of Clinical Services for Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) where she oversaw the clinical care of over 100,000 patients seen for 180,000 visits per year. Dr. Russo was recently awarded an official State Resolution by the California State Assembly commending her for her years of service to the Orange County community.

Dr. Russo has published research on harassment of abortion providers, physicians' use of guidelines, ectopic pregnancy, and other family planning subjects. She has served as an author for several textbooks on family planning. She is Media Editor for the medical journal Contraception and records a monthly podcast on family planning research. Dr. Russo has been interviewed for Salon regarding harassment of abortion providers. She speaks at town halls and community events on a regular basis and consults for Congressional representatives on family planning subjects.

Dr. Russo attended college at Cornell University, where she graduated with Honors in Biology and Society. She earned her Medical Degree from George Washington University and served in the National Health Service Corps. She completed residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and went on to complete a Fellowship in Family Planning and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh.

Sub-specialties:
Contraception, including patient care and research on birth control methods
Abortion, including medication abortion, surgical abortion
Harassment of abortion providers
Ectopic pregnancy
Health care for the underserved
Medicaid
Reproductive rights