Dr. Sherri Alderman Continues as Oregon’s Act Early Ambassador

For the past two years, OPS member and developmental behavioral pediatrician Sherri Alderman, MD, MPH, IMH-E, FAAP has been the Act Early Ambassador for Oregon. This program is supported by the Learn the Signs. Act Early. (LTSAE) program of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at CDC. Dr. Alderman has recently been chosen to carry on her work for the 2019 – 2021 term.

Act Early Ambassadors expand the reach of the LTSAE program and support their respective state’s work toward improving early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, including autism.

Two highlights from Dr. Alderman’s first term include creating a pilot project called “Nurturing Healthy Attachments” for the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, which integrated LTSAE with components specific to families experiencing incarceration. This program was featured in the Early Learning Nation article “Transforming Parent-Child Connections in Incarceration.” In addition to her program work, Dr. Alderman led the creation of the Act Early Oregon website.

During her next term, Dr. Alderman plans to advance the website’s current goal of promoting cross-sector developmental monitoring and parent empowerment and engagement by providing information on early childhood development. Other goals for her continuing work as Oregon’s Act Early Ambassador include:

Dr. Alderman attended the University of Wisconsin medical school, and completed her pediatric residency and Master of Public Health at the University of New Mexico. She is an Executive Committee Member of the AAP Council on Early Childhood and President of the Oregon Infant Mental Health Association. Among many career appointments, Dr. Alderman has served as the Medical Director and clinical trainer for OPS, and Child Development Coordinator for the Oregon Health Authority.