Meet Our Providers
Cheryl E. Perkins, MD, FAAP
Dr. Perkins obtained her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Georgia in Athens and her Doctor of Medicine degree at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta in 1986. She then completed her three-year Pediatric residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. After graduation, Dr. Perkins worked in private practice in Modesto, California for three years and then in Waycross, Georgia until 2001, when she moved to Statesboro to work with Statesboro Pediatric Clinic.
In 2006, she invited Dr. Whitlock to join her as Bulloch Pediatrics, PC. She has been board certified in general pediatrics with the American Academy of Pediatrics since 1991, and she has served as the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics from 2005-2010 and 2019-2021.
Austin Whitlock, MD, FAAP
Dr. Austin Whitlock grew up in Statesboro and graduated from Statesboro High School. After high school, Dr. Whitlock attended the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1998. He then attended medical school at Emory University School of Medicine and completed his postgraduate training in pediatrics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital. After completing his residency, Dr. Whitlock served as Chief Resident and was a member of the faculty of the Pediatrics Department at T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital.
In 2006, Dr. Whitlock returned home to Statesboro and started Bulloch Pediatrics with Dr. Perkins. Dr. Austin Whitlock served as the Chief of the Department of Pediatrics for East Georgia Regional Hospital from 2012-2018 and has served on the Medical Executive Board for EGRMC. He is a past president and current member of the Ogeechee River Medical Society. He is a member of the East Georgia Physicians Group. Dr. Whitlock is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Whitlock has been named Best Physician by Best of the Boro, and Most Fabulist Father and Most Fabulist Pediatrician by Statesboro Magazine. As a charter member of the Ferst Foundation of Bulloch County, Dr. Whitlock is a strong advocate for childhood literacy.
Dr. Whitlock and his wife, Heather, are the very proud parents of three daughters. In his spare time, Dr. Whitlock enjoys spending time with his family, watching football, and traveling. As both a pediatrician and a parent, Dr. Whitlock enjoys helping you to take care of your children!
Kirsten Coulter, MSN, RN, CPNP
Kirsten is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who received her post masters certification at the University of South Alabama. She has been a pediatric nurse for 20 years and has work experience from Children’s Hospital in Norfolk, VA and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, GA. Kirsten and her family reside in Bryan County following her husband’s Army PCS to Ft. Stewart, GA in 2008.
Jessica French, MSN, RN, CPNP
Jessie is a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She is originally from a small town just outside Columbus, Ohio. She has school-age triplets which keep her busy with all of their extracurricular activities. Jessie received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Ohio State University. She practiced at Bulloch Pediatrics from 2013-2014 before moving back to Ohio to be closer to family. After spending a year at Lima Pediatrics she and her family chose to relocate back to Statesboro in the summer of 2015 so she could rejoin her “family” at Bulloch Pediatrics.
Nancy Derr, Lactation Consultant
Nancy has many years of experience in helping mothers and babies breastfeed. She graduated from the University of Delaware in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her first NICU job was in a medical center with a human milk bank. All of the preemies and sick babies that she cared for received breastmilk from donors. It was there that she learned about the wonder that is breastmilk. In subsequent nursery jobs she was committed to helping mothers give their babies that wonderful milk. She became a Certified Lactation Counselor in 2001 while working for East Georgia Regional Medical Center providing part-time lactation services. While there, she studied further and became an IBCLC or International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2007. IBCLC’s are the only health professionals with a special internationally-recognized credential in lactation. From 2012 to 2015 she was the owner of Southeast Georgia Lactation and Wellness Services LLC. Nancy has also worked part-time as a substitute school nurse for the Bulloch County Board of Education. Nancy is married and is the mother of two (exclusively breastfed many years ago) grown sons. She looks forward to helping Bulloch Pediatrics’ clients meet or exceed their breastfeeding goals.