Rachel Villanueva, M.D., FACOG is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She earned a BS in Biology at Yale University and MD, cum laude, from the Yale School of Medicine. She is board certified in Obstetrics/Gynecology and practices in New York City.

Dr. Villanueva is a women’s health expert and advocate who is committed to reproductive justice, health equity, workforce diversity, and disease prevention. She is an active member of the National Medical Association, the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization representing African-American Physicians and their patients. She has held numerous local, regional and national leadership positions including Chair of the Board of Trustees, Speaker of the House of Delegates, and Chair of the Council on Concerns of Women Physicians. She was recently elected NMA President-Elect, becoming the first former Student National Medical Association President to hold this position. Dr. Villanueva has served as an advisor to the SNMA Board and Strategic Planning Council. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Alumni in Yale Medicine; assisting in the creation of its first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee. As a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, she has served on the Pregnancy and Heart Disease Task Force and currently on the Health Equity Subcommittee of the District 2 Safe Motherhood Initiative. Dr. Villanueva recently became part of the Medical Advisory Group of the Black Health Trust, a group of physicians and health care professionals, committed to educating and serving communities of color. She is a medical advisor to Expect, a streaming video app that provides safe at-home prenatal fitness classes. As a former competitive gymnast, Dr. Villanueva believes that fitness and exercise are crucial components of a woman’s total health and wellness. She is an avid snowboarder, Bikram Yogi and tennis player. Dr. Villanueva has been named one of the Influential African–American and Caribbean New Yorkers in Health and as one of the Top Black Physicians in New York City by The Network Journal. She is also a proud native New Yorker of Haitian descent.