Dr. Mollie Wallick (1926-2008)

Dr. Mollie Wallick was born in 1926 in New Orleans, where she lived until 2005. Wallick taught at and served as the director of the Communal Hebrew Nursery School for many years while caring for her three children. She then attended University of New Orleans, where she received her M.A and Ph.D. She became the Educational Director of the Therapeutic Nursery School at Lousiana State University Medical Center (LSUMC) and later, a Professor of Psychiatry at LSUMC. During her tenure, Wallick was known for her work centering on mother-infant relationships, autism, and diversity in medical education. She wrote her dissertation on mother-infant bonding, and her research led to a policy change at Charity Hospital, allowing mothers to bond with, care for, and breast-feed their newborns.

Wallick was committed to advocating for LGBTQ+ students and citizens of New Orleans. She served as the Student-Faculty Liason for Gay and Lesbian Issues, and structured the first gay-affirming teaching programs at LSU and Tulane Medical Schools. She formed a panel of LGBTQ+ medical professionals who spoke to medical students in Louisiana and Mississippi. She worked to ban discrimination in hiring practices and served as an advocate to many students. Wallick advocated for rights for LGBTQ+ folks in housing and the workplace before the New Orleans City Council. She died in 2008 after a long struggle with breast cancer.