Presidents' Council
Dr. Berkowitz is professor of obstetrics and gynecology, director of quality improvement, and associate director of the residency program in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University at Columbia University Medical Center. He joined Pathfinder’s board in 2003.
Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, Richard was professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center for 18 years, and director of its Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. In between post-graduate studies, he served as a Peace Corps physician in Mauritania and Nigeria and worked as a consultant for Family Planning International Assistance in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
Richard is a pioneer in the use of obstetrical ultrasound and has developed several invasive procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of fetal diseases in utero. He was also the co-recipient of the King Faisal Award in medicine for his work in finding a non-invasive cure for a potentially lethal fetal disease in utero. He is a member of numerous professional and scientific societies, has been president of the New York Obstetrical Society, and was a senior national board examiner for many years in both general obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine.
Richard serves on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. He has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as authoring or editing more than 35 books and book chapters.
He was elected as Pathfinder’s 13th board chair in November, where he served until May 2019.