Pediatrician Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson is a Chief of Digital Innovation and author of Seattle Mama Doc Blog for Seattle Children’s Hospital. She is working to revolutionize health communications by using social and digital media to bridge the gap between parents and doctors. As the first physician blogger for a US hospital, she has led the way for novel use of social media in healthcare. Swanson speaks in the U.S. and internationally on physician use of social media, digital health and innovation in advocacy and public health. Dr. Swanson founded Digital Health at Seattle Children’s in 2013, leading a team in innovation by testing and creating new digital tools to leverage the wisdom of patients, families and providers.
As Chief Medical Officer for Before Brands, Dr. Swanson is leading efforts to foster conversations around the importance of early and consistent inclusion of potential allergens in the diet. Before Brands is a science-based health and wellness company dedicated to bringing innovative nutritional products directly to families.
She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media and an official spokesperson. She is on the Board of Advisors for Parents magazine and is a platinum fellow on the board for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. She is a weekly medical contributor with NBC affiliate KING 5 News in Seattle. Her first book, Mama Doc Medicine: Finding Calm and Confidence in Parenting, Child Health, and Work-Life Balance was published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a Gold Award Recipient of the Mom’s Choice Awards.
Dr. Swanson graduated with Honors in Psychology from Kenyon College. She earned an MD and MBE (Master’s in Bioethics) at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School Of Medicine and then completed her residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital.