Bergen NELSON, MD

Bergen Nelson, MD, MS, is a primary care pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, VA. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and received her medical degree at Harvard Medical School, where she studied primary care with Dr. Kathryn Hayward. Dr. Nelson completed pediatric training at the University of California, San Francisco, in the inaugural class of the Pediatric Leadership for the Underserved (PLUS) program, and then participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar’s Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received training in public health and health policy research. She conducts research on improving community systems of care for young children with developmental and behavioral concerns. Early in her own life, Bergen’s family was part of the San Francisco Zen Center, and she has practiced mindfulness and meditation for decades. Most recently, she helped to facilitate training in Mindful Self-Compassion for Healthcare Professionals at the VCU School of Medicine. She is married to Stefan Girardet and they have 2 active boys, Harper and Sawyer, who meditate with her sometimes in order to hone their concentration for martial arts training.