Chioma Oruh

Chioma Oruh is a first generation Nigerian-American family caregiver of her two autistic children, community advocate and a thought leader on family centered practices and public policy issues impacting intersectional identities such as race, gender, sexuality, and disability status. She’s an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University and provides perinatal support for neurodivergent pregnant people and early childhood care community through her nonprofit, FixPat (named after her parents), and a cooperative she co-founded called NeuroMama. Chioma serves on many public boards in her hometown of Washington, DC, including the Coordinating Council for School-based Behavioral Health (with DC Department on Behavioral Health), the Family Support Council (with DC Department on Disability Services), and is the Vice-Chair of the Medical Care Advisory Council (with the DC Department on Healthcare Finance). Chioma holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and an M.A. in African Studies, both from Howard University, and a B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Human Services from George Washington University. She also holds certificates in Early Intervention and Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation – both from the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Chioma also holds a Certificate in Education Finance from the McCort School of Public Health at Georgetown and a Certificate in Leadership from the National Center for Cultural Competency, also from Georgetown. She also is trained in Parent Organizing through the Community Organizer Training Program (COTP) of Innovate Public Schools, DC Advocacy Partners Leadership Training through Institute for Educational Leadership, and recently completed a Leaders of Color certificate training with Democrats for Education Reform. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.