2025 Honorees:
- Chuka Anude, MD, Ph.D. MPH, VP, Vice President and Global Head, Clinical Safety and Risk Management (CSRM) for Infectious Disease Vaccines, Moderna Therapeutics
- Sandra Ajisafe, PharmD, Executive Director, Genentech
- Virginia Caine, MD, President, National Medical Association (NMA)
- Niesha Foster, Vice President, Global Health & Social Impact, Pfizer
- Denelle J. Waynick Johnson, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, UCB
- Thomas LaVeist, Dean, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
- Marla Littlejohn, Head, Dermatology Pipeline Commercial Strategy, AbbVie
- Leverne (Jonas) Marsh, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing & Project Management, Dexcom
- Jude Ngang, Executive Director, Global Access & Use Evidence Generation, Amgen
- Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, President and CEO, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)
- Barbara Salami, Vice President/US Head, Commercial Excellence and Innovation, Novo Nordisk
- Denise Allen Williams, Vice President of Strategy and Commercial Operations, Merck
- Edrice Simmons
VP of US Oncology, AbbVie - Charles Henderson
CEO, American Diabetes Association (ADA) - Mike Edmondson
VP Performance Optimization, Amgen - Richard Allen Williams MD, FACC, FAHA, FACP
Founder, Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) Founder, President and CEO, Minority Institute - David M. Carlisle MD, PhD
President and CEO, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine (CDU) - Rashad Burgess
VP Advancing Health & Black Equity, Gilead Sciences - Katie Williams
US Chief Marketing Officer, Haleon - Howard Reid
Global Head, Global Health Equity, Johnson & Johnson - James Earl King Hildreth, MD, PhD
President, Meharry Medical College - Chirfi Guindo
Chief Marketing Officer & Member of the Executive Team, Merck - Yolanda Lawson, MD
President, National Medical Association (NMA) - Negelle Morris
Senior Vice President, Head of US Cardiometabolic Sales, Novo Nordisk - Rose Blackburne, MD, MBA
VP, Global Head General Medicine, Thermo Fisher Scientific - Julie Spencer Washington
EVP, Chief Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience Officer, Trinity Health - Darrell M. Gray II, MD, MPH, FACG
President & CEO, Wellpoint Maryland - Monique Adams, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Global Head, Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical Trials – Sanofi - Sam Conaway
President, US Sales Cardiology Group – Boston Scientific - Rod Cotton
SVP and Head of Strategy & Transformation – Roche Diagnostics - Dr. Christina Harris
Vice President & Chief Health Equity Officer – Cedars-Sinai - Sheri Humphrey
Executive Director, Regional Oncology Marketing – Merck - Veronica Jones
Chief Procurement Officer – Gilead Sciences. - Reshema Kemps-Polanco
Executive VP and US Head, Novartis Oncology - Anthony Mack
Chairman and CEO – Virpax - Dr. Ponda Motsepe-Ditshego
MD, VP and Therapeutic Area Head of Global Medical, Inflammation & Head of RISE - Dr. Andrew “Drew” Otoo
President, Global Vaccines – Merck - Erica Taylor, PhD
VP, CMO – Genentech - Dr. Reed V. Tuckson
MD, FACP
2024 Honorees
2023 Honorees
2020 Honorees
- Dr. Jerome Adams
US Surgeon General - Dr. Ted Love
President & CEO – Global Blood Therapeutics - Myrtle Potter
CEO – Sumitovant Biopharma - Dr. Alexis Thompson MPH
President Amer. Society of Hematology - Julie (Miller) Tyler
VP Global Marketing – Vascular Abott - Wendy Short Bartie
AVP Global Lead Genitourinary Cancer – Merck - Dr. John Carpten
Professor & Chair of Translational Genomics – Keck School of Medicine of USC - Dr. Nicole Lang
Founder & CEO – Washington Pediatrics Associates - Dr. Leon McDougle
President – National Medical Association - Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi
Executive Director – Rodham Institute
2019 Honorees
- Jasper Beard, Senior Director, ViiV Healthcare
- Courtney Billington, President, Neuroscience
- Tyrone Brewer, VP Global Oncology Commercial Strategy
- Vanessa Broadhurst, MBA Company Group Chairman
- Oliver Brooks, MD President Elect, National Medical Association Medical Director
- Ronald Copeland, ACS Senior Vice President & Chief Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Officer
- Mike Edwards, Director, Consumer Marketing Hematology
- Esi Eggleston, Chief Operating Officer, EVP Beauty & Personal Care
- Antoine (Tony) Ezell, P-US Connected Care and Insulins
- Jo-Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer
- Cynthia Patton, Sr. Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer
- Henrietta Ukwu, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Global Quality and Global Regulatory Affairs
- Mitzi Williams, Assistant Professor of Neurology
2018 Honorees
- William Carson, CEO, Otsuka
- Julius Dixon, Commercial Business Director, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Keith Black, Chairman and Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars Sinai
- Conrod Kelly, Executive Director Diabetes Franchise, Merck
- Keith Hoops, Director, CNS Consumer Marketing, Takeda
- Dorris Browne, President, National Medical Association
- Quita Highsmith,, Genentech
- LaQuandra Nesbitt, Director, D.C. Department of Health
- Craig Cole,, University of Michigan
- Brian Williams,, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
- L.D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H., Brickhouse Professor of Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School
- Doxie Jordan, Vice President, Area Commercial Lead, Novo Nordisk Inc
- Gail Larkins, Senior Director-U.S. Medical Affairs, HEM/ONC Multiple Myeloma Franchise, Celgene
- Coleman Obasaju, MD PhD, Senior Medical Director-Oncology, Lily
2017 Honorees
- Kedrick D. Adkins Jr., Chief Financial Officer, Mayo Clinic
- Donna R. Cryer, JD, President & CEO, Global Liver Institute
- Adaeze Enekwechi, PhD, M.P.P, Associate Director for Health Programs, White House Office of Management & Budget, Appointee for President Barack Obama
- Thomas A. Farrington, Founder & President, Prostate Health Education Network
- Brian A. Hawkins, Director, Washington D.C. VA Medical Center
- Yolanda Haywood, M.D., Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion & Student Affairs, The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences
- Michael A Kelly, Sr. Vice President Global Business Services, Amgen
- Honorable Robin L. Kelly, Congresswoman, Illinois 2nd District
- Evelyn L. Lewis, MD, MA, FAAFP, DABDA, CMO Warrior Centric Health LLC, CMA, ReX LLC and Immediate Past President of the American Academy Family Physician Foundation
- Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, DFAPA, Executive VP & Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer
- Kimberly Banks MacKay, Head, U.S. Legal and Compliance, Novartis Business Services
- Veronica T. Mallett, M.D., MMM, Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean, School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College
- Joseph Melancon, MD, Chief of The GW Transplant Institute and Division of Transplant Surgery,
- Desiree Ralls-Morrison, Senior VP, General Counsel & Secretary, Boehringer-Ingelheim U.S.
- Maj Gen Leonard Randolph Jr. M.D., USAF (Ret.) Board Chairman, Cincinnati YMCA
- Jonathan Woodson, M.D., Professor of Surgery, Boston University
2016 Honorees
- Kimberly Aldridge, Sr. Director, Global Oncology Marketing, Eli Lilly and Company
- Ruth Brinkley, President & CEO (KentuckyOne Health)/VP Catholic Health Initiatives, KentuckyOne Health/Catholic Health Initiatives
- George Brown, President & CEO, Legacy Health
- Alan Butcher, Sr. Vice President & Head of Licensing and Business Development, Purdue Pharma
- Marsha Butler, Sr. Vice President, Global Professional Relations, Colgate Palmolive Company
- Donna Christensen, Retired Member of US Congress, US Virgin Islands,
- Reginald Coopwood, President & CEO, Regional One Health
- Hazel Dean, Deputy Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Jocelyn Elders, 15th Surgeon General of the United States, US Government
- Sean Gallimore, Corporate VP & Chief Marketing Officer, PAREXEL
- Michelle Gaskill, President, Advocate Trinity Hospital
- Shirell Gross Esq., VP & Chief Legal Counsel of Radiology, Bayer Corporation
- Walter Harris, Deputy Commissioner for Operations & Chief Operating Officer, Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
- LaMar Habrouk, Executive Director, National Association of County & City Health Officials
- James Hildreth, President & CEO, Meharry Medical College
- Frederick Hobby, Former President & CEO, Institute for Diversity in Health Management
- Reginald Mebane, Sr. Executive Officer, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Hugh Mighty, Dean & VP of Clinical Affairs, Howard University College of Medicine
- Edwin Nichols, Director, Nichols & Associates, Inc.
- Bob Oliver, President & CEO, Otsuka America, Inc.
- Rhonda Peebles, Executive Director of Marketing & Head of Dermatology, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
- Gary Puckerin, President & CEO, National Minority Quality Forum
- Dennis Pullin, President, Sr. VP, Medstar Harbor Hospital, Medstar Health
- Pamela Sutton-Wallace, CEO, University of Virginia Medical Center
2015 Honorees
- Ophelia Garmon-Brown, Sr. Vice President for Community Partnerships, Novant Health Inc.
- Neil Moore, President & CEO, Dimensions Healthcare System
- Rhonda Nesmith Crichlow, Vice President & Head, U.S Diversity & Inclusion, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
- Walter Faggett II, Speaker of the House of Delegates, National Medical Association
- Suzanne Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, John Randolph Medical Center
- Renee Fraizer, Chief Executive Officer, Common Table Health Alliance
- Edith Peterson Mitchell, President Elect, National Medical Association
- Wayne Rawlins, Vice President & National Medical Director, Aetna, Inc.
- Charmaine Ruddock, Director, Consumer Marketing – Hematology, Bronx Health REACH, The Institute for Family Health
