NMA Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly

Jump to the speaker:

• Deleso Alford, J.D., LL.M
• Paul J. Atkins
• John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H.
• Georges Benjamin, M.D.
• Gary C. Butts, M.D.
• Dominique D. Calhoun, Esq.
• Jeffrey D. Carter, M.D.
• Jeanne Conry, M.D., Ph.D.
• Adaeze Enekwechi, Ph.D., M.P.P.
• Darrell Gaskin, Ph.D., M.S.
• Keon L. Gilbert, Dr.P.H., M.A., M.P.A.
• Rodney Hood, M.D.
• Ivor Braden Horn, M.D., M.P.H.
• Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02)
• Yolanda Lawson, M.D.
• Niva Lubin Johnson, M.D.
• Franciscka Lucien
• William A. McDade, M.D., Ph.D.
• Sandra B. Nichols, M.D.
• Joseph Salvador Palm
• Joe Paul
• Peggy Shepard

• Deleso Alford, J.D., LL.M

  Professor of Law
  Southern University Law Center

  Deleso A. Alford, the Rachel Emanuel Endowed Professor at Southern Univ. Law Center is doing ground-breaking work bridging legal and medical education by telling stories—what she refers to as “HER stories” the unique and particularized lived experiences of black women intersecting with health care and research. Her scholarship has moved from classrooms to court room, benefiting legal, healthcare professions and society with her racially inflected lessons.

  She earned a B.S., magna cum laude at Southern Univ. A&M College, a J.D. at Southern Univ. Law Center, and an LL.M. at Georgetown Univ. Law Center. Her interest in bioethics led to her earning a Certification in Clinical Bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

  Her seminal law review article written over a decade ago, entitled ‘HeLa Cells and Unjust Enrichment in the Human Body’, serves as a catalyst and theory of the case for the current historical Henrietta Lacks litigation. The first complaint against biotechnology company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. resulted in a historic confidential settlement for the Lacks’s family (August 1, 2023). She recently submitted an Amicus Brief in the second unjust enrichment lawsuit filed against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical company for its wrongful profits from use of Henrietta Lacks’s immortal cell line (August 10, 2023). A federal judge in Maryland rejected the pharmaceutical company’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit in a 76-page memorandum opinion on May 20, 2024.

  Representative courses taught by Professor Alford include Torts I and II, Federal Jurisdiction, Civil Procedure, Law and Racism, Bioethics and the Law, Race and the Law. Recently, she facilitated virtual chat cultural competency teaching modules for an audience consisting of LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Allied Health Professions.

  Professor Alford is a former Adjunct Faculty, Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Education) at Univ. of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine and the Co-Director of the Longitudinal Curricular Themes (LCT) in Culture, Health, and Society. She is a nationally sought after interdisciplinary speaker who has been referred to as “a prolific and impactful “HERstory” teller changing the legal landscape of bodily autonomy and medical ethics.”

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• Paul J. Atkins

  Principal | Human Capital | Life Sciences & Healthcare
  Deloitte Consulting LLP

  Paul Atkins is currently a Principal in the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP within Human Capital for organizational transformation. For the first 10 years of his career at Deloitte he focused on strategy & operations for performance improvement for healthcare providers to help transform clinical operations, care delivery models, span of control, support services, administrative/overhead functions, and organizational M&A/integration. To help provide a full integration strategy for healthcare providers, he now has intersected his previous work with organizational transformation to help healthcare organizations execute their transformation strategy by leveraging data and insights to manage, optimize, and sustain the desired operational and behavioral changes. These efforts include work in organizational strategy, design and transition, culture transformation, training and communications strategy, health equity, design and delivery, future of work, and change management. Paul is also the leader of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Deloitte’s LifeScience and Healthcare Practice.

  Paul completed his Master’s degree in Health Administration (M.H.A.) from Saint Louis University School of Public Health and went on to become the first Black male fellow for the Johns Hopkins Health System post grad Administrative Fellowship Program. He is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana where he received his B.S. in Biology and became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.

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• John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H.

  Director, Office of Climate Change & Health Equity
  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health,
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

  Dr. Balbus is the Director of the new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within OASH and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate Change and Health Equity. A physician and public health professional with over 25 years of experience working on the health implications of climate change, Dr. Balbus has served as HHS Principal to the U.S. Global Change Research Program and co-chair of the working group on Climate Change and Human Health for the U.S. Global Change Research Program since he joined the federal government in 2009. Before coming over to the new Office, Dr. Balbus served as Senior Advisor for Public Health to the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

  Prior to joining NIEHS, Dr. Balbus was the Chief Health Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services. He received his M.P.H. degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Harvard University. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021.

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• Georges Benjamin, M.D.

  Executive Director
  American Public Health Association

  Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., is a well-known health policy leader, practitioner, and administrator. He currently serves as the executive director of the American Public Health Association, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of public health professionals. He is also a former secretary of Health for the state of Maryland where he oversaw a $4.5 billion agency. Dr. Benjamin is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is board-certified in internal medicine, a Master of the American College of Physicians, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a fellow emeritus of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. At APHA, he serves as the publisher for APHA Press, the American Journal of Public Health and The Nation’s Health newspaper. In addition, he sits on several outside nonprofit boards such as Research!America (Vice chair), the Environmental Defense Fund and Ceres.

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• Gary C. Butts, M.D.

  Executive Vice President
  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  Mt. Sinai Health System

  Dr. Gary C. Butts is the Executive Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Mount Sinai Health System and serves as its Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. He also holds the role of Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy, and Community Affairs and Professor of Pediatrics, Medical Education, and Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. With decades of experience, Dr. Butts has been instrumental in designing and managing comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategies across the health system, including its medical and graduate schools, graduate medical education, and hospitals. His leadership extends to directing the Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs and overseeing initiatives that have significantly diversified the student body and faculty. Under his stewardship, Mount Sinai has garnered recognition for its commitment to diversity, including top rankings from DiversityInc and Forbes. Dr. Butts also spearheaded the launch of the Diversity Innovation Hub, focusing on inclusivity in health care innovation and technology. His career spans leadership roles in academic medicine, public health, and community outreach, including a tenure as Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health. Dr. Butts is actively involved in national and regional medical organizations and has received numerous awards for his leadership and contributions to health care diversity and community service. A native New Yorker, Dr. Butts completed his premedical studies at Columbia College and earned his medical degree from Cornell Medical College. He completed his clinical training in pediatrics at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

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• Dominique D. Calhoun, Esq.

  President
  National Bar Association

  Dominique D. Calhoun is the managing shareholder of Calhoun Meredith, PLLC – a boutique law firm specializing in plaintiff tort-related issues.

  Calhoun represents hundreds of clients injured due to individual and corporate negligence.  His work has recovered millions for his clients and, for consecutive years, has garnered him the distinction of being named one of Texas’s Rising Stars in the practice area of personal injury by Super Lawyers, an honor only bestowed to the top 2.5% of lawyers in the State of Texas.

  Dedicated to improving the lives of all Texans and citizens throughout the country, Calhoun has contributed his legal and business acumen to a number of non-profit organizations, including serving as the 81^st President of the National Bar Association (the oldest and largest Bar association of Black lawyers and judges in the United States); member of the National Council of Bar Presidents; Commissioner for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity; National Chairman of A Kappa’s Promise, a national partnership between the March of Dimes and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; board member for Undies for Everyone; Vice-Chairman for the Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce’s Foundation; and member of the State Bar of Texas’s Diversity in the Profession Committee.  He also serves as Legal Counsel to the Southwestern Province of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and as the Grand Legal Advisor to the United Most Worshipful Scottish Rite Grand Lodge A.F. and A.M. of Texas, Inc.

  Calhoun is a alumnus of Thurgood Marshall School of Law, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class and was appointed by the Governor of Texas to serve as student regent for Texas Southern University – the highest-ranking student leadership position at the institution. He is also a two-time graduate of Midwestern State University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science, and served as President of the Student Government Association.

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• Jeffrey D. Carter, M.D.

  Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors
  Federation of State Medical Boards

  Dr. Jeffrey Carter is a physician leader, anesthesiologist in clinical practice, and medical regulator with an exceptional commitment to advocating for advances in patient safety and health equity.

  Dr. Carter was appointed to the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts in 2009, and again in 2019.  On the state level he has served in numerous leadership roles, including twice as Board President. Inspired by the opportunity to achieve greater impact on medical regulation and patient care on the national level, in 2017 Dr. Carter was elected to the Board of Directors of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the USA.

  He has held numerous committee appointments, and from 2021-2023 led the FSMB Workgroup on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Medical Regulation and Patient Care, which made best practice recommendations for embedding equity in medical regulation.  Dr. Carter served as FSMB Chair from 2023-2024, and established two new workgroups: the Workgroup on Regulation of Physicians in Training, which developed recommendations for relieving administrative burdens while ensuring appropriate oversight of physicians, and the Workgroup on Physician Reentry to Practice, whose work is continuing through April 2025.  Understanding the potential for artificial intelligence to positively impact the quality of medical care and to reduce disparities in health access and outcomes, Dr. Carter directed the Ethics and Professionalism Committee to study the current integration of artificial intelligence in health care, which developed best practice guidance for state medical boards and other organizations on the ethical guidelines for the use of AI in clinical care and in medical regulation.

  A graduate of Yale University School of Medicine, with postgraduate training in anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Carter’s contributions to clinical, administrative, and regulatory practice have been recognized by his peers yearly since 2007 with “The Best Doctors Award,” and he is the recipient of the St. Louis American Foundation’s  “Excellence in Healthcare Award.”

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• Jeanne Conry, M.D., Ph.D.

  CEO & President, Environmental Health
  Leadership Foundation

  Dr. Conry was President of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics from 2021 through 2023 and 64th President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a membership organization representing over 57,000 practicing obstetricians and gynecologists. She has led guideline development and national policy on the important role of Reproductive Health and the Environment and was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pacific Southwest Region Children’s Environmental Health Champion Award. She led the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative, a national collaboration to define and implement optimum women’s health services across their lifespan. For 28 years, Dr. Conry was a practicing obstetrician gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente (KP), the largest health maintenance organization in the United States. She served in a leadership capacity as the Assistant Physician-in-Chief for KP’s Sacramento Roseville region where she developed the Women and Children’s Center, the largest obstetric delivery service in KP.  Dr. Conry currently serves as President and CEO of the Environmental Health Leadership Foundation, an organization that spearheads efforts to improve the health and well-being of women through systematic changes in health care delivery with a focus on the environment. She received the Visionary Leadership Award from the University of California, and the U.S. House of Representatives acknowledgment for accomplishments in women’s health.  Dr. Conry earned her medical degree from the University of California, Davis, where she also completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology.  She served as an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis.  She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biology from the University of Colorado.

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• Adaeze Enekwechi, Ph.D., M.P.P.

  Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors
  Federation of State Medical Boards

  Adaeze Enekwechi, Ph.D., M.P.P. is the CEO of Cayaba Care, a venture-backed, value-based, maternal health company focused on improving outcomes for moderate and high risk pregnant women covered by Medicaid and commercial insurance. Cayaba provides a full-suite, wrap-around services model in home, in person and virtually to supplement existing OB care with social, emotional, other supports during pregnancy, at delivery, and postpartum to ensure that historically underserved populations experience excellent maternal outcomes. Adaeze is also an Operating Partner at WCAS, an investment firm where she focuses on growth-oriented healthcare companies to articulate the value of private equity capital to healthcare companies. She also sharpens the firm’s understanding of the policy and regulatory environment which can have a significant impact on healthcare companies particularly companies serving Medicare and Medicaid populations. Dr. Enekwechi is trained in health economics and outcomes research, and led IMPAQ, LLC, a company that provided research, technical assistance, and advanced analytics services for federal clients which she took through its acquisition in 2020. She also spent many years in federal policy roles at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, and she was the Head of Health Programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Obama. There she led policy, management and regulatory oversight for over $1 trillion in spending across all federal health agencies and programs. Dr. Enekwechi serves on the board of directors at the Public Health Institute, Alliance for Health Policy, MedStar Health, the largest health system in the DC area, Tia, a women’s health company, and Liberty Dental, a PE-backed company. She is also an active member of a Maryland chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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• Darrell Gaskin, Ph.D., M.S.

  William C. & Nancy F. Richardson Professor
  Professor, Bloomberg School of Public Health
  Johns Hopkins

  Darrell J. Gaskin, Ph.D., M.S. is the William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy and Director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Dr. Gaskin is a health services researcher and health economist.  He is an internationally recognized expert in health and healthcare disparities.  He seeks to identify and understand how contextual factors influence access to care, quality of care and health outcomes for minority, low socioeconomic status, and other vulnerable populations.  His research strives to develop and promulgate policies and practices that address the social determinants of health and promote equity in health and well-being.

  Dr. Gaskin is an international leader in health policy. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.  He is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.  He serves on the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Health Advisors and the Board of Directors of the American Society of Health Economists.  He has served in leadership roles in AcademyHealth, the American Public Health Association, the National Academy for State Health Policy, and the National Economics Association. He is a member of Maryland Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on Minority Health and the Maryland Health Equity Policy Committee.  He is a 2019 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

  Dr. Gaskin has a Ph.D. in public health economics from the Johns Hopkins University. He holds a M.S. degree in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.A. degree in economics from Brandeis University.

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• Keon L. Gilbert, Dr.P.H., M.A., M.P.A.

  Fellow, The Brookings Institution
  Executive Director, Institute for Healing Justice & Equity
  St. Louis University

  Keon L. Gilbert is a fellow at in the Governance Studies program at Brookings. He is an associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Science & Health Education at the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University and a co-founding director of the Institute for Healing Justice and Equity, a center focused on eliminating disparities in health caused by systemic oppression. Prior to joining Saint Louis University, Dr. Gilbert completed his doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh and was a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Health Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research portfolio includes mixed methods approaches to answer research questions regarding the intersections of race, class, gender, and place. His work has also involved understanding the role of social and health care policies on health outcomes; access and use of health care and social services; understanding the role of place on the development of Black males; the role of racial equity tools to influence local and county policy change; and understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to shape health behaviors, access and use of health and social services, and health policies.

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• Rodney Hood, M.D.

  Past President, NMA

  Dr. Rodney Hood is an honor graduate from Northeastern University School of Pharmacy in Boston earning a B.S. degree in Pharmacy then enrolled at the UCSF Graduate School of Pharmacology and Toxicology Doctorate program for a year before transferring to the UCSD School of Medicine where he received his M.D. degree. He then completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UCSD University Hospital becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians (FACP).

  His passion for medicine has been expressed through his decades long membership in the National Medical Association (NMA) serving as the chairman of the NMA board before being elected as the 101st President of the NMA. He has received many prestigious awards including being honored by UCSD Alumni Award for Excellence as the Outstanding Alumni for Professional Achievement in 2003, the CMA Foundation Adarsh S. Mahal, M.D., Access to Health Care and Disparities Award, and the AMA Foundation Pride in the Profession Award.

  Over the past 30 years Dr. Hood has researched and lectured extensively on the historic aspects of race, ethnicity, genetics, and racism in medicine and the impact on today’s health inequities. He currently serves on several foundation boards that are focused on solutions to eliminate health inequities including the Multicultural Health Foundation in San Diego, the Alliance Healthcare Foundation which is a philanthropic foundation financially supporting non-profit organizations serving underserved communities in Imperial and San Diego Counties, past chair and current board member of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.

  In March 2020, Dr. Hood spearheaded the formation of the COVID-19 Equity Task Force in San Diego, then helped establish the NMA COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force focused on vaccine hesitancy found in Black communities. He served as Tri-Chair for the San Diego County COVID-19 Clinical Vaccine Advisory Work Group and was appointed by the California Governor Gavin Newsome as a member of the California Scientific Vaccine Safety Review Workgroup and the Western States (Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and California) Scientific Vaccine Workgroup to evaluate and render independent recommendations for FDA authorized or approved vaccines.

  He remains socially active with membership in the Alpha Pi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi Boule fraternities.

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• Ivor Braden Horn, M.D., M.P.H.

  Health Tech Advisor and Expert

  Dr. Horn is a nationally recognized researcher with funding from government and non-profit organizations including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA), AHRQ, and the Verizon Foundation to research the use of technology in underserved (under-represented) populations. She has authored several peer-reviewed journal publications on health communication and health disparities. She has been a community-based primary care pediatrician with over two decades of experience providing care and conducting research in communities of color.

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• Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02)

  U.S. House of Representatives

  Congresswoman Robin Kelly has dedicated her career to public service as an advocate for Illinois families. Since being elected to serve the 2nd Congressional District in 2013, she has worked to expand economic opportunity, community wellness, and public safety across the state, championing numerous initiatives to generate job growth, reduce health disparities, and end gun violence.

  Congresswoman Kelly is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (the main policy-writing body of the House) and serves on the Health, Communications and Technology, and Innovation, Data, and Commerce subcommittees. Her Energy and Commerce work is focused on expanding access to healthcare, consumer protection for American families, and economic development.

  She is also a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which sets the policy direction of the Democratic Caucus.

  A staunch champion of common sense gun reforms and responsible community policing, Representative Kelly is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce and is the author of The 2014 Kelly Report on Gun Violence in America, the first-ever Congressional analysis of the nation’s gun violence epidemic that offers a blueprint for ending the crisis.

  Committed to improving the health and wellness of vulnerable communities across the country, the Congresswoman serves as Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, and Co-Chairs the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. She also Co-Chairs the House Democratic Policy Group and House Tech Accountability Caucus.

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• Yolanda Lawson, M.D.

  124th President
  National Medical Association

  Yolanda Lawson M.D, FACOG, 124^th President of the National Medical Association, has 20 years of clinical practice expertise in Women’s Health and healthcare leadership. Recently she has joined HealthCare Services Corp as Executive Medical Director, Maternal Infant Health and is responsible for leading high profile priority initiatives to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

  She founded MadeWell OBGYN in Dallas, Texas, and is an Associate Attending at Baylor University Medical Center.  She is the medical director of Abounding Prosperity, a community-based organization that addresses HIV disparities in target, Black communities and Principal investigator for the Eboni study researching HIV prevention in Black women.

  She is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, member of the Texas Medical Association where she serves on the Physician Health and Wellness committee, and she is a delegate for the Dallas County Medical Society and serves on the Political Action committee.

  Dr. Lawson is a staunch advocate for physicians and the patients they serve. Her tireless efforts and strategic approach are a testament to her commitment as a women’s health advocate and her relentless pursuit to end health disparities. Her unique combination of business acumen, leadership, and genuine care has propelled her career and transformed opportunities into significant contributions to medicine and her community.

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• Niva Lubin Johnson, M.D.

  Past President, NMA

  Dr. Niva Lubin-Johnson is an advocate of quality healthcare for all and the 119th President of the National Medical Association. She is the third President and first woman to have served as President, Speaker of the House of Delegates and Chair of the Board of Trustees.

  She finished her Medical Degree in 3 years. A board-certified General Internist, Dr. Lubin-Johnson was in private practice for 29 years and currently is a clinical consultant for healthcare entities and Medical Officer of the day for a residential Mental Health Facility.

  Dr. Lubin-Johnson is Past Chair of the Women’s Physician and  Minority Affairs Sections of the AMA. She is a delegate from the Illinois State Medical Society to the AMA-House of Delegates and represents the same organization on the Illinois Kidney Disease Prevention and Education Task Force and is a fellow of the Institute of Medicine-Chicago. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, Life-member of the Student National Medical Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (serving on the International Health and Wellness Committee), a member of the Links, Incorporated and a founding advisory member of TimesUp Healthcare. She served on the Illinois Department of Public Health COVID-19 Equity Team, the Illinois Lieutenant Governor Health Equity Task Force, and is a member of the Organizing Committee of the NMA/American Association of Medical Colleges Collaborative to increase Black Men in Medicine.

  She believes in the need for wellness and preventive care to prevent physician burnout and is focused on increasing the numbers of African Americans entering and completing medical school and residency.

  As an opportunity to continue to serve Organized Medicine while addressing actions, issues, and events that decreased the numbers of African Americans Physicians, Dr. Lubin-Johnson accepted the position of Co-Chair of the AMA Truth Reconciliation Healing and Transformation Task Force.

  She is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ and has been an active member and past Chair of its Church in Society Ministry.

  Dr Lubin-Johnson and her husband reside in Chicago and are parents to three children and have one grandchild.

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• Franciscka Lucien

  Senior Director of Health Equity
  Clinton Global Initiative, The Clinton Foundation

  Franciscka Lucien is the Senior Director of Health Equity at the Clinton Global Initiative, where she leads the Initiative’s health work.  She brings over 15 years of experience spanning global health and human rights, non-profit leadership and board governance, and advocacy and crisis management for clients across Fortune 500 companies and industries including finance, healthcare, and economic development. Franciscka holds a Master of Arts from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Science from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service

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• William A. McDade, M.D., Ph.D.

  Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer
  Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)

  William McDade, M.D., Ph.D. is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and adjunct professor of Anesthesiology at Rush Medical College.  Prior to that, he was EVP/Chief Academic Officer for the Ochsner Health System; Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago, Associate Dean for Multicultural Affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine; and Deputy Provost for Research and Minority Issues for the University of Chicago.  He is founder of the James E. Bowman Society at the University of Chicago whose focus is on achieving diversity in academic excellence and the elimination of health inequities.  Dr. McDade served as trustee of the American Medical Association, on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Joint Commission and has been a past-president and board chair of local and state medical societies in Illinois.  He served as chair of the National Medical Association’s Anesthesiology Section and the AMA’s Council on Medical Education.  He served on the US Department of Education’s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation, been a representative to the Coalition for Physician Accountability, a board member for the National Board of Medical Examiners and for the ACGME, where he chaired the Taskforce on Diversity in Graduate Medical Education. Dr. McDade is a board-certified Anesthesiologist and graduate of Pritzker’s Medical Scientist Training program earning a Ph.D. in Biophysics and Theoretical Biology.  He completed his internship in internal medicine at UChicago and residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

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• Sandra B. Nichols, M.D.

  SNichols Consulting, LLC
  Founder & CEO “The Samaritan Project”

  With over three decades of service and a proven track record of improving patient outcomes and optimizing health care delivery for all, Dr. Nichols has worked as Director and Commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Health; Cabinet Secretary and Board of Health Member in the administrations of two Arkansas governors; CEO of Amerigroup D.C. and Virginia; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealth Group’s Health Inclusion and Community Engagement division; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare’s National Inpatient Care Management team; Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare’s Northeast and West Regions; and National Medical Director of Clinical Performance for UnitedHealthcare-AmeriChoice.

  Dr. Nichols’ steadfast commitment to and enhancement of health and wellness equity, particularly for intentionally marginalized groups, has earned her multiple recognitions and awards, including Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business, The Daily Record Maryland’s Top 100 Women, Modern Health Care Magazine’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Health Care, and the National Congress of Black Women Inc.

  Dr. Nichols’ twelve-plus years of work with NMF included serving as a volunteer, a Board Member, Vice Chair, Interim CEO at a time when the organization was at an inflection point, and Chair.  In addition to countless hours of service, Dr. Nichols and her husband, Ronnie, donated over $1 million to NMF during her tenure.

  Dr. Nichols earned her undergraduate degree from Columbia College in Missouri, her graduate degree in biology from Tennessee State University, and her medical degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medical Science, at which she also served as secretary of the institution’s Student National Medical Association chapter, chief resident, and completed a fellowship in occupational and environmental medicine.  She is a graduate of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Leadership Institute at University of California, Berkeley, and earned her Master of Science in Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.

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• Joseph Salvador Palm

  Regional Director
  U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  Office of the Secretary | Intergovernmental & External Affairs (IEA)
  Regions 7 & 2 - (MO, NE, IA, KS, NY, NJ, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands & 17 Federally Recognized Tribes)

  In 2022, Joseph Palm was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden as the Director for Region 7 of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which encompasses the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa and 9 federally recognized tribes. Recently, he was also appointed the Director for HHS Region 2, which encompasses the states of New York and New Jersey and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, in addition to 8 federally recognized tribes.

  Appointed by the President, Congress, Cabinet Members and USCCR Staff Directors, Joseph Palm serves as Commissioner with the U.S. Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys (CSSBMB). The CSSBMB is a bipartisan commission whose mission is to elevate Black Men and Boys by examining social disparities, issuing policy recommendations, and crafting legislation to Congress, the White House, and federal agencies for actionable implementation. As CSSBMB Commissioner, Director Palm will continue his work to reduce racial disparities, especially in health and education outcomes.

  Previously, from 2009-22, Director Palm was the Chief of the Office of Minority Health, for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MODHSS). As the Chief, Mr. Palm was the key advisor to the MODHSS Director on various health matters that affected minorities; he also served as a liaison to the Missouri General Assembly while also working with statewide local public health agencies and elected officials. Director Palm ran the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded opioid and homicide prevention program, and he also ran the COVID-19 mobile testing and vaccination sites across the State of Missouri. In addition, he worked on the ground during the Ferguson, Joplin, and various Missouri major flood daily recovery operations.

  Prior to working for MODHSS, Director Palm worked as the Assistant to the Chief of Staff in the City of Saint Louis Mayor’s Office, as a Legislative Researcher in the Missouri State Capitol, and as an assistant to the Chief of Staff in the Missouri 1st Congressional District Office. Mr. Palm began his career as a firefighter for the City of Saint Louis in Missouri, and he continues to live by the motto “Seeking Opportunities To Serve-STLFD!”

  Joseph is a native to the City of Saint Louis, Missouri, although his family roots are in Hometown, Missouri (The Bootheel). He received his associate degree from Forest Park Community College, a bachelor’s degree in communications studies, and master’s degree in public health from Saint Louis University.

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• Joe Paul

  Founder & CEO
  OptimaNova AI

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• Peggy Shepard

  Co-Founder and Executive Director
  WeAct for Environmental Justice

  Peggy Shepard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice and has a long history of organizing and engaging Northern Manhattan residents in community-based planning and campaigns to address environmental protection and environmental health policy locally and nationally. She has successfully combined grassroots organizing, environmental advocacy, and environmental health community-based participatory research to become a national leader in advancing environmental policy and the perspective of environmental justice in urban communities — to ensure that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment extends to all. She has been named co-chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council as well as chair of the New York City Environmental Justice Advisory Board, and was the first female chair of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Black Environmental Justice Network and the Board of Advisors of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Her work has received broad recognition: the Jane Jacobs Medal from the Rockefeller Foundation for Lifetime Achievement, the 10th Annual Heinz Award For the Environment, the William K. Reilly Award for Environmental Leadership, the Knight of the National Order of Merit from the French Republic, the Damu Smith Power of One Award, the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, and Honorary Doctorates from Smith College and Lawrence University.

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