Dr. Courtney Cares
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Dr. Courtney Gillenwater, a 5ft 2 pediatrician and U.S. Navy veteran, is a U.S. Goodwill Ambassador and international humanitarian, with a history of volunteering as a physician in disaster areas, humanitarian crises and post-conflict zones.

After undergrad at the U.S. Naval Academy and University of Florida, Dr. Courtney shifted military service ambitions into a medical career, caring for America’s underserved children on both coasts (Miami’s public county hospital while at the University of Miami Medical School, and LA’s public county hospital while a pediatric resident at USC).

Her unique combination of backgrounds cultivated an ability to operate in environments with limited resources and complex sociopolitical challenges – and her military training and experience in international relations and public affairs, serve as a distinctive complement to her medical education.

Much of Dr. Courtney’s work to focus on providing medical care to poor and underprivileged patients and disaster victims. She was involved in establishing a free children’s surgical clinic in India with the international charity, Operation Smile; and she has engaged in a series of international humanitarian missions as well – ranging from earthquake disaster relief in Nepal, to refugee sea rescues and volunteering as a pediatrician for refugee children in Greece.

In New York City she advocated for refugees with the New York City Refugee and Asylee Health Coalition, and volunteered to help counsel victims at the NYU Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture. She also became a voice for refugees worldwide when she became one of 12 individual American doctors on the Amicus federal court case versus Trump’s Immigration / Muslim Travel Ban.

In addition to medical volunteer efforts, Dr. Courtney also identifies refugees who were former combat interpreters for U.S. Armed Forces, working with the veteran-run organization, No One Left Behind. She aids U.S. wartime allies and their families in gaining access to the Special Immigration Visa program, to assure America keeps it promise to appreciate those who faithfully served alongside U.S. troops overseas.

In October 2017, Dr. Courtney shared her experiences on “what a difference one person can make” to the Harvard Kennedy School Adaptive Leadership Conference in Washington DC. Both Harvard and Oxford University alumni commended her for “her efforts in salvaging the American reputation abroad” and establishing herself as a self-driven ambassador of goodwill and hope.

Dr. Courtney is now establishing an international non-profit foundation based in London and the U.S., which is developing a platform called “Good to Go,” to connect people who want to volunteer with local and global opportunities to do so – and create an easy way for anyone to help people anywhere, by leveraging her extensive network of contacts within the global health, humanitarian, and disaster relief communities. Her goal is to give everyone a chance to make a difference.

ABOUT DR. COURTNEY:

Dr. Courtney Gillenwater, a 5ft 2 pediatrician and U.S. Navy veteran, is a U.S. Goodwill Ambassador and international humanitarian, with a history of volunteering as a physician in disaster areas, humanitarian crises and post-conflict zones.

After undergrad at the U.S. Naval Academy and University of Florida, Dr. Courtney shifted military service ambitions into a medical career, caring for America’s underserved children on both coasts (Miami’s public county hospital while at the University of Miami Medical School, and LA’s public county hospital while a pediatric resident at USC).

Her unique combination of backgrounds cultivated an ability to operate in environments with limited resources and complex sociopolitical challenges – and her military training and experience in international relations and public affairs, serve as a distinctive complement to her medical education.

Much of Dr. Courtney’s work is focused on providing medical care to poor and underprivileged patients and disaster victims. She was involved in establishing a free children’s surgical clinic in India with the international charity, Operation Smile; and she has engaged in a series of international humanitarian missions as well – ranging from earthquake disaster relief in Nepal, to refugee sea rescues and volunteering as a pediatrician for refugee children in Greece.

In New York City she advocated for refugees with the New York City Refugee and Asylee Health Coalition, and volunteered to help counsel victims at the NYU Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture. She also became a voice for refugees worldwide when she became one of 12 individual American doctors on the Amicus federal court case versus Trump’s Immigration / Muslim Travel Ban. 

In Malta, she represented American goodwill towards refugees at the EUROMED Migration Conference and the International Migration Media Awards, hosted by the Mediterranean Parliament and the International Center for Migration Policy Development. 

In addition to medical volunteer efforts, Dr. Courtney also identifies refugees who were former combat interpreters for U.S. Armed Forces, working with the veteran-run organization, No One Left Behind. She aids U.S. wartime allies and their families in gaining access to the Special Immigration Visa program, to assure America keeps it promise to appreciate those who faithfully served alongside U.S. troops overseas.

In October 2017, Dr. Courtney shared her experiences on “what a difference one person can make” to the Harvard Kennedy School Adaptive Leadership Conference in Washington DC. Both Harvard and Oxford University alumni commended her for “her efforts in salvaging the American reputation abroad” and establishing herself as a self-driven ambassador of goodwill and hope.

Dr. Courtney is now establishing an international non-profit foundation based in London and the U.S., which is developing a platform called “Good to Go,” to connect people who want to volunteer with local and global opportunities to do so – and create an easy way for anyone to help people anywhere - by leveraging her extensive network of contacts within the global health, humanitarian, and disaster relief communities. Her goal is to give everyone a chance to make a difference.