Bethany Kotlar

Global Health MPH’15

Doctoral student, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Before Bethany Kotlar started her MPH, she developed a passion for reproductive justice for incarcerated women. Through a program with Emory’s Candler School of Theology, she had built relationships with women at a large state prison in Georgia, and she was shocked to learn about the birthing conditions for incarcerated mothers. Typically, mothers only have a couple of hours with their babies before they are separated, and the infant is placed in a temporary home.

At Rollins, Kotlar worked with MCH co-director Dr. Amy Webb Girard on a childbirth curriculum for incarcerated women. This project grew into a full-fledged nonprofit, Motherhood Beyond Bars, which provides education and support for justice-involved women and their children. The organization was also instrumental in advocating for and passing Georgia House Bill 345, which prohibits shackling, use of solitary confinement for medical observation, and cough and squat searches for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated women.

Kotlar remains involved in Motherhood Beyond Bars but now resides in Boston. She previously served as the Program Manager for the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is now beginning a PhD there. Kotlar is part of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and strives to continue to improve the health of vulnerable populations through her research.

According to Kotlar, the passionate and like-minded people she met while at Rollins were the best part of the experience. She recommends connecting with others and finding a place in the community where you can practice public health, as she did with Motherhood Beyond Bars.