Events

Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, Ph.D.
President
The Links, Incorporated

Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, is the President and CEO of Envision Consulting, LLC, a boutique public health consulting firm. She is also currently the 17th National President of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated.

Dr. Jeffries Leonard has provided managerial leadership in private and government settings and is knowledgeable of federal contracting principles and grants management. She has also worked extensively on programs in and with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. An enrolled tribal member of the NC state-recognized Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, Dr. Jeffries Leonard is a proponent of increased participation by Native Americans, African Americans and other minorities in relevant research to help improve their health outcomes.

Dr. Jeffries Leonard serves as Director-at-Large on the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc. Board of Directors; serves as Vice President of Administration and member of the Board of Directors of the Black Women’s Agenda, Inc.; is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.; is a member of the American Heart Association Diversity Leadership Committee; serves as a member of the Petey Greene Program Board of Trustees; is a member of the AIDS United Board of Trustees; and was appointed to serve on the ReOpen DC Advisory Group, the ReOpen DC Task Force on Equity and as Chair of the DC Commission on African American Affairs by Washington, DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser.

Dr. Jeffries Leonard earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology from Howard University and a Master of Science degree from North Carolina Central University. She also completed a National Institutes of Minority Health (NIMH) pre-doctoral fellowship at George Washington University; a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute post-doctoral fellowship at the Howard University Cancer Center; and the Graduate Summer Program in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.

Carol McGruder
Co-Chairperson
African-American Tobacco Control Leadership Council

Carol McGruder is a seasoned veteran of California’s tobacco control movement, and a founding member and Co-Chairperson of the African-American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC). Created to inform the direction of tobacco control policy, practices, and priorities, the AATCLC works at the intersection of public health policy and social injustice. The council continues to fight resolutely against the decades of racialized tobacco industry targeting of the Black community and the resulting 45,000 Black lives lost each year from tobacco related diseases.

The AATCLC has been at the forefront of the national movement to restrict the sale of mentholated tobacco products, assisting several municipalities across the country in passing ordinances to get these deadly products out of black communities. They played a vital role in San Francisco’s historical passage of the first citywide ordinance prohibiting the sale of menthol and all other flavored tobacco products and most notably contributed to the resounding defeat of the $12 million-dollar RJ Reynolds referendum to repeal the ordinance. The council now engages with other advocacy groups to fight back against the tobacco industry’s efforts to overturn Senate Bill 793, California’s statewide bill that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 21.

Carol and the AATCLC have received accolades from many organizations including the Public Health Law Center, SRNT, American Legacy Foundation, and the San Francisco and Berkeley Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Carol herself served as NAACP Branch President for Berkeley, CA, for two terms.

Portia Reddick White, J.D.
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Portia Reddick White, is the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Previously, she served as an integral member of the National Education Association's (NEA) Government Relations team as Federal Lobbyist, where she represented the interest of three million members and students. Her portfolio consisted of the major issues of health care, civil rights, women’s issues, housing, voting rights, criminal justice, and equity as well as, being the liaison to the Congressional Black Caucus, the Hispanic Congressional Caucus and the Progressive Caucus.

In 2017, Portia led AARP’s Government Affairs Department as Interim Health and Family Director with a primary focus to develop the department's stakeholder outreach. During the 2016 presidential election cycle, she was Deputy Director for Public Engagement for the Democratic National Convention Committee and was honored to serve as Senior Advisor to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Her portfolio consisted of various interests including outreach and policy advice regarding intergovernmental agencies, labor, faith-based communities, NGA’s, civil and human rights, diversity, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to her Senate service, Portia, was principal owner of Reddick White and Associates assisting clients with issues including strategic planning, outreach, training, and labor relations. And, for years she served as Legislative and Political Director for Transport Workers Union of America, representing the interests of members of the airline, transit, rail, NASA, university system and gaming industry. Over the course of her career in organized labor, she has held various union offices.

A graduate of the University of Baltimore Law School, Portia earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education at Oral Roberts University.

Leon McDougle, M.D., M.P.H.
President
National Medical Association

Dr. McDougle is the 1st African-American Professor with tenure in The Ohio State University Department of Family Medicine and he is the 1st Chief Diversity Officer a.k.a. ‘Chief Collaborating Officer’ of the OSU Wexner Medical Center. A graduate of the University of Toledo and OSU College of Medicine, he completed the family medicine residency at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, California, and earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy.

Dr. McDougle has been recognized as being among the top 10 percent of physicians nationally for patient satisfaction. In 2020, during the 125th Anniversary of the National Medical Association, he was installed as its 121st President. Dr. McDougle is a past Chair for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Diversity and Inclusion. He has worked with the AAMC as faculty for the Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program, Minority Faculty Leadership Seminar, and Mid-Career Minority Faculty Leadership Seminar. In addition, he directs several workforce diversity programs including the MEDPATH Postbaccalaureate Program.

He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. McDougle is a member of the Rhema Christian Center. He is a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

Lincoln Mondy
Associate Director of Strategic Projects
Advocates for Youth

Lincoln Mondy is the Associate Director of Strategic Projects at the national reproductive rights organization, Advocates for Youth, where he designs cultural-change campaigns, visuals, and strategies focused on the health and power of young people.

Prior to Advocates, Lincoln was a Senior Account Executive at BerlinRosen, a public relations firm. There he supported progressive organizations on a range of issues including criminal justice, reproductive health, and racial equity. He is the filmmaker behind Black Lives / Black Lungs, a short film documenting Big Tobacco’s 50+ year campaign transforming menthols into a “black cigarette”.

John Burns, J.D.
Managing Partner
The Burns Brothers

John Burns is the managing partner of The Burns Brothers which is an integrated culture driven multi-disciplinary marketing and communications agency. He is also is an attorney, branding expert, published author and television and media personality. John practiced law for almost 2 decades, providing counsel to clients in a wide variety of areas.

He is also a staple in media, telecom and the publishing industries, working with brands and providing commentary on several media outlets including MSNBC, TV One, Bet and Sirius XM.

John holds a position on the Washington, DC National Bar Association, is a professor at the Omega School of the Applied Arts and Sciences, has been profiled in Washington Life Magazine and Smart CEO and was honored by Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Push Coalition as a Top Inspirational Leader.

Shana Davis
Senior Program Director
Black Women’s Health Imperative

With over 20 years of experience in private and non-profit sectors, Shana has a proven history of leading high-impact strategies across various business units for organizations such as the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the American Cancer Society, United Way, Girl Scouts, Citigroup, The Home Depot Company, Diageo, Young & Rubicam, Hilton Brands, and ABC News. She is a highly skilled communicator with an outstanding record of partnering with executives on developing and executing high-performing marketing and communications strategies that enhance revenue, brand relevance, and market penetration.

Shana leverages her talent for building teams and providing transformational leadership to supervise cross-functional teams to accomplish operational excellence. Recognized as a collaborative leader, Shana cultivates influential partnerships and engages C-suite executives to drive organizational success. Shana's work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Golden Quill Award (Digital Communications), Phoenix Award (Social Media), Communicator Award (Integrated Campaign, Video Production, and Website - Overall Content and Design), and an Emmy Award for Death of John F. Kennedy Junior (broadcast production team).

Shana earned her bachelor's degree in English from Spelman College and her master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Temple University and is an active member of several organizations, including the International Association of Business Communicators, the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., and Jack and Jill of America. She enjoys cooking, watching documentaries, working out, and gardening. Shana resides in Atlanta with her tween-age daughter, and her four-legged grand dog, Belle.

Bria Gamble
Truth Ambassador
Truth Initiative

Bria Gamble is a recent graduate of Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in biology.

Bria has a passion for serving her community and has exhibited this as an active board member of the Oakwood Biomedical Sciences Association, as a student government senator, as Miss Oakwood University and a Truth Ambassador.

As a Truth Ambassador, Bria hosted an intergenerational conversation about menthol with administrators and other stakeholders at her university. She had over 75 people participate in rich conversation on this issue and got the school to commit to adding Lincoln Mondy’s Black Lungs Black lives to the freshman intro curriculum. Because of this experience and others, Bria has become passionate about helping minority patients improve their health outcomes in a future career as a physician.

Derrick Johnson
President and CEO
NAACP

Derrick Johnson serves as President and CEO of the NAACP, a title he has held since October of 2017. President Johnson formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, as well as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. A longstanding member and leader of the NAACP, Mr. Johnson has helped guide the Association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration.

Under President Johnson’s leadership, the NAACP has undertaken such efforts as the 2018 “Log Out” Facebook Campaign, pressuring Facebook after reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans, the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership, marking the 400th year enslaved Africans first touched the shores of America, the 2020 We are Done Dying Campaign, exposing the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large, and most recently the victorious 2020 Supreme Court lawsuit NAACP vs. Trump, which prevents Donald Trump’s administration from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for millions of young immigrants.

President Johnson also continues to be on the frontlines on some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, calling out Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for his use of Blackface, condemning the burning of Black churches in Tennessee and Louisiana, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to Attorney General William Barr’s nomination, and overseeing the NAACP’s vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump at the 110th National Convention in Detroit.

Born in Detroit, Mr. Johnson attended Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS. He then received his JD from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX. Mr. Johnson has also furthered his training through fellowships with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the George Washington University School of Political Management, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served as an annual guest lecturer at Harvard Law School, lending his expertise to Professor Lani Guinier’s course on social movements, and as an adjunct professor at Tougaloo College.

Mr. Johnson is a veteran activist who has dedicated his career to defending the rights and improving the lives of Mississippians. As State President of the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, he led critical campaigns for voting rights and equitable education. He successfully managed two bond referendum campaigns in Jackson, MS that brought $150 million in school building improvements and $65 million towards the construction of a new convention center, respectively. As a regional organizer at the Jackson-based non-profit, Southern Echo, Inc., Mr. Johnson provided legal, technical, and training support for communities across the South.

President Johnson is frequently featured on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and many others, advocating on behalf of the Black community and all those who are affected by systemic oppression and prejudice.