Deborah L. Billings

Deborah L. Billings, PhD, is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health and the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health. She holds dual roles in the Department of Maternal and Child Health and the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior. Dr. Billings also serves as a senior advisor for Group Care Global (GCG), promoting maternal and child health through group-based care models funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020. She is an affiliate faculty member at the Institute for Families in Society and a Principal Investigator for the qualitative VOICES/VOCES initiative addressing Medicaid for pregnancy care in South Carolina. Her research focuses on sexual/reproductive health rights, violence prevention, and global health equity, with over 35 years of international work in contraceptive access, safe abortion care, and maternal health advocacy.

Education: PhD in Sociology (University of Michigan, 1995), MA in Sociology (University of Michigan, 1991), BA in Anthropology and Latin American Studies (University of Pittsburgh, 1987).

Research interests include global reproductive justice, maternal health systems, and participatory action research. She co-teaches qualitative methods in public health and facilitates courses on mutual aid at USC’s Honors College. Dr. Billings has collaborated with institutions like the World Bank, UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, and Ipas. She co-founded Mutual Aid Midlands and serves on boards for Witness for Peace SE and The Agape Table.