Serena Liebengood

- Johns Hopkins Medicine

Dr. Serena Liebengood is the principal of The Howard C. Liebengood Foundation (HCLF) and the widow of the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard “Howie” Liebengood, who died by suicide on January 9, 2021. In the aftermath of Howie’s death—an outcome that reflects a broader, systemic crisis in law enforcement—Dr. Liebengood founded HCLF to improve officer health and wellness across the continuum, from the workplace to the healthcare delivery system. Through the Foundation, she works to strengthen officer health by addressing organizational culture and leadership, improving access to culturally competent care, and aligning healthcare systems with the needs of law enforcement. Dr. Liebengood earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University, a graduate degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and her medical degree from Rutgers–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She also completed the Patient Safety Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medicine through the Armstrong Institute’s Leadership Program in Quality and Safety, bringing a clinician’s and systems-based perspective to her work. In addition to leading the Foundation, Dr. Liebengood played a key role in the passage of federal legislation amending the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Act to recognize suicides directly linked to traumatic workplace events as line-of-duty deaths.

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