Higher Education & Democracy with Spelman College President, Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
As part of the Virtues & Vocations series Education for Flourishing: Conversations on Character & the Common Good, we are pleased to welcome Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., who began serving as the 11th president of Spelman College on July 1, 2022. A pediatrician and public health physician with expertise in economic development, humanitarian, and health issues, she previously worked in leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was the president and CEO of the international humanitarian organization, CARE and the Chicago Community Trust. Listen in to a conversation about her work at Spelman and how higher education can promote democracy and the common good.
Experience the Event
Monday, October 7, 2024 12:00 pm
As part of the Virtues & Vocations series Education for Flourishing: Conversations on Character & the Common Good, we are pleased to welcome Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., who began serving as the 11th president of Spelman College on July 1, 2022. A pediatrician and public health physician with expertise in economic development, humanitarian, and health issues, she previously worked in leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was the president and CEO of the international humanitarian organization, CARE and the Chicago Community Trust. Listen in to a conversation about her work at Spelman and how higher education can promote democracy and the common good. This event was recorded on October 7, 2024. Learn more at the Virtues & Vocations website.
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MoreMeet the Speaker: Dr. Helene Gayle, M.D., M.P.H.
Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., began serving as the 11th president of Spelman College on July 1, 2022. Dr. Gayle previously served as president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations, from October 2017 to June 2022. Under her leadership, the Trust adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region.
For almost a decade, Dr. Gayle was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization. A pediatrician and public health physician with expertise in economic development, humanitarian, and health issues, she spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS prevention. She led the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s programs on HIV/AIDS prevention and other global health issues.
Dr. Gayle serves on public company and nonprofit boards, including The Coca-Cola Company, Organon, Palo Alto Networks, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and New America. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, Council on Foreign Relations, American Public Health Association, National Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. She was appointed by President Biden to serve on the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States and also serves on the CDC Advisory Committee to the Director.
Dr. Gayle is from Buffalo, N.Y. She earned a B.A. in psychology at Barnard College, an M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.P.H. at Johns Hopkins University. She is a tenured Full Professor in the Department of Environmental and Health Sciences at Spelman College and has received 18 honorary degrees.
Dr. Gayle is married to Stephen Keith, the First Gentleman of Spelman College, who is also a physician and a proud Spelman dad.
The Monica Pearson Show: Interview with Helene D. Gayle
Broadcast legend Monica Pearson has been a trusted voice in Atlanta for over four decades. And now, she’s joining the Atlanta Journal Constitution to deliver her smart and entertaining perspective of the world around us. In this episode, she interviews Spelman College President Helene Gayle about her life and current role at Spelman. The see the interview, click here.
In a World of Inequalities, Does Democracy Matter? | Smart Women, Smart Power
On this episode of Smart Women, Smart Power, Dr. Helene Gayle, President of Spelman College and CSIS Trustee, joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis for a discussion on her approach to leadership after years in government, the nonprofit space, and the private sector, including CARE, the CDC, and USAID. Dr. Gayle is no stranger to leading during a crisis, and at the heart of her decisions is the notion that people are policy. To see the full interview, click here.
Spelman College receives historic $100 million donation, the largest single gift to any HBCU
One of the country’s leading educational institutions for Black women in science, technology, engineering and math just became the recipient of the largest single donation ever given to a historically Black college or university, or HBCU, in the United States. To read the full article on cbsnews.com, please click here.