Cynthia Baur

Cynthia Baur, PhD, is a health literacy and health communication expert focused on improving health literacy at the individual, family, community and organizational levels. She directs the University of Maryland Horowitz Center for Health Literacy,  the nation's first academic health literacy center, and is a professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health. In 2022, Dr. Baur and other advocates worked with Maryland Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk, who sponsored Maryland HB1082,  to designate the Horowitz Center as the state's consumer health information hub.  Dr. Baur is the Principal Investigator on multiple federal and state funded projects on health literacy, clear communication, digital health, diabetes prevention and organizational health literacy improvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center provided communications support to Maryland local health departments and coalitions, and pre and post-pandemic, the Center supports the Maryland Department of Health and local health departments on the state's diabetes action plan.  Dr. Baur provides training and expert advice to local, state and national committees and initiatives. Before coming to UMD, she served for almost 20 years in the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  She was CDC's Plain Language and Health Literacy Lead from 2011 to 2016.

To request Dr. Baur for speaking role or a one-on-one meeting, please fill out this request form.