Anna I. S. Binkiewicz, M.D.

Dr. Anna Binkiewicz, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, is one of those rare professionals who has not only dedicated her entire professional career to bettering the lives of Arizona's children, but has also committed herself to a legacy of caring by educating and training future generations of social workers, doctors, and other professionals in the prevention of child abuse and neglect and the humane and vigilant treatment of our most vulnerable victims: our children. Her devotion is manifested daily in the children she treats in hospitals, shelters, and advocacy centers in the community. 

For much of her career, Dr. Binkiewicz has worked with children who are victims of abuse and neglect. She was instrumental in developing procedures in Arizona that would prevent child victims from being retraumatized by the investigative system. Dr. Binkiewicz enlisted the support of political leaders and others who had the power to make changes to how our society treats child victims of abuse. Hers was the medical voice raised in opposition to the manner in which children were previously examined at hospital emergency rooms in an effort to obtain forensic medical evidence. 

She insisted that children must not be traumatized further by the very people who were trying to help them. Dr. Binkiewicz convinced prosecutors that their conviction rate would be higher if pediatricians who were trained to collect forensic evidence conducted the medical exams. She led the way in advocating that forensically trained professionals conduct the interviews so that child victims would only have to tell their story one time. And she convinced community leaders that children should have a child-friendly environment to go to when they have been victimized. Dr. Binkiewicz has been a major force and voice for children in the State of Arizona in every aspect of protecting children from victimization. 

Dr. Binkiewicz was nominated by Susie Huhn, Executive Director, Casa de los Niños, Tucson, Arizona, with support from Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.