Colleen M. Fitzpatrick MD, MPA is a pediatric surgeon and an ardent sustainability advocate.

Originally from Lynbrook, NY, she attended the University of Miami for both her undergraduate (Biomedical Engineering) and medical degrees. While an undergraduate, she joined the US Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

After medical school Colleen completed her General Surgery Residency and two additional years of research on active military duty at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium (Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio) in San Antonio, TX. She then went on to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, MI.

After completing her fellowship, she returned to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (Wilford Hall and Brooke Army Medical Centers) where she served on active duty as a Pediatric Surgeon.  During this time she deployed to Afghanistan. Dr. Fitzpatrick completed her military commitment as faculty at the Center for the Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (CSTARS) St. Louis at St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO. She attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and served as the Pediatric Surgery Consultant to the US Air Force Surgeon General.

On completion of her military commitment, Colleen remained on faculty at St. Louis University.  She achieved the rank of Associate Professor and served as the Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Director and Pediatric Surgery Division Chief. She was also the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Trauma Medical Director and Surgeon-in-Chief, holding the J. Eugene Lewis Endowed Chair.

It was during her time in St. Louis that Dr. Fitzpatrick became keenly interested in the environment and healthcare sustainability. She travelled to Antarctica with the third cohort of the Homeward Bound Project - an international leadership program for women in the STEMM fields that aims to empower women to lead and contribute to a sustainable world.

Dr. Fitzpatrick made the decision to return the New York area in 2020. During this transition she travelled to Liberia with Doctors Without Borders to work at the Bardnesville Junction Hospital in Monrovia. Upon returning from Africa, she worked in a New York area ICU during the unprecedented first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently she joined the Pediatric Surgery faculty of Cohen Children’s Medical Center and is currently an Associate Professor at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University.

In 2023, Dr. Fitzpatrick completed her MPA from the Columbia University School of International Public Affairs (SIPA) with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management where she developed an interest in Life Cycle Analysis.  She is currently a member of the Northwell Health Clinical Sustainability working group and is working on a transition to reusable textiles. Additionally, she is working with the medical school faculty to introduce sustainability into the medical school curriculum. She is the co-chair of the Healthcare Without Harm: Surgeons for a Sustainable Future group and is an inaugural co-moderator for the American College of Surgeons on-line Sustainability Community. She is a member of the American Pediatric Surgery Association Sustainability Committee.