Director's Council of Public Representatives

All Current Members

Lynn Olson, Ph.D., Term: 2009–2013

Dr. Lynn Olson is the Director of the Department of Research for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), where she studies diverse pediatrician attitudes and practices and supports collaborative, multi-institutional research projects. The results of this research shape national priorities and future directions for the Academy.

Dr. Olson has extensive experience working on teams to translate research findings into better patient care by including primary care pediatricians from all 50 states in the research process. She is also a strong advocate for the academy’s Plain Language Pediatrics program to help pediatricians better communicate with their patients.

As a trained sociologist, Dr. Olson works to promote the patient perspective (both parent and child) in pediatric research, including issues involving lack of health insurance and preventive care. She has also conducted research on public housing and welfare-to-work programs in Chicago.

After growing up on dairy farm, Dr. Olson attended St Olaf College in Minnesota and then Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she completed a Ph.D. in sociology. She lives in the Chicago area but also enjoys time with family and friends in the “driftless” hills and farmland of Central Wisconsin.