Meet Dr. Georges Benjamin - Executive Director at APHA Striving for Health Equity
Dr. Georges Benjamin was the 2021 GlobalmindED Inclusive Leader Award winner for health and was at the GlobalMindED conference this June to present the 2022 Inclusive Leader Award to Dr. Jandel Allen-Davis, CEO of Craig Hospital, the world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in neurorehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI).
Georges, what is your personal narrative? What key moments in your life led you to where you are?
I grew up in a middle-class household in Chicago. Both parents were well educated and had masters degrees. It was always an assumption that we would go to college but not overly promoted. I suspect if I wanted to go to a trade school my parents would have been happy as long as it was what I wanted to do. We were always told we could be anything we wanted to be even President. I stumbled into medicine as a option to do molecular genetic research - my college passion. I fell in love with clinical medicine, specifically emergency medicine.
Several key decisions guided my pathway to medicine. First, participating in Army ROTC in high school and Navy ROTC in college. These prepared me for a potential military experience. Getting an Army scholarship to medical school sealed the deal. After 9 years in the Army, I went to the civilian sector and tried my hand at private sector medical management at the city hospital in Washington, DC. After 2 1/2 years running the community medicine department, I was given a promotion to be the DC Commissioner for Public Health. This gave me experience running a large health system and practicing public policy. Later, I practiced emergency medicine with a private ER group, ran the DC EMS system and eventually returned to public health full time. In 1995, I had to make the decision to go into health management full time when I became the Maryland Health Secretary.
I have been in public health management and practice ever since, including my almost 20 years at APHA. Along the way I have had lots of mentors, advisors and a few detractors. I always had a sense of moving forward in my career with no regrets. I listen to my distractors to understand the potential barriers in my way and then maneuver around them.
As the Executive Director at the American Public Health Association, what goals do you have to continue improving your inclusive practices? How can your community and partners like GlobalMindED support you?
At APHA I have a amazing diverse staff who value diversity and enjoy working in teams. APHA's core principles include achieving health equity. We work daily to make that happen, focusing on the social determinants of health. Those societal things that either assist you being healthy or inhibit it. We continue to promote inclusivity in our programming and advancing our anti-racism work. That work is designed to help communities address structural racism through policy change. We have a variety of partners in this work and are looking to expand this sign in many communities.
What advice would you give to future Inclusive Inspirational Leaders?
Set goals for yourself, track your success and don’t let anyone distract you from them. I encourage young people to make a list of the things they do not like to do - including kinds of work or positions - and then don’t do them. Focus on the things you enjoy doing and build your career on the things that advance your goals and you enjoy doing.
What should aspiring DEI leaders do to help build that long line of succession.
Be the best that you can be in whatever your profession is. Be trustworthy and purposeful. Become a mentor to someone that needs your advice and guidance. You don’t have to look they will find you. Equip them with your best advice and let them fly. Don’t give up on those ghat have potential but are struggling. They need you the most.
