President and CEO

Michellene Davis, Esq.

Michellene Davis assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of National Medical Fellowships, Inc., (NMF) in July of 2021. Founded in 1946, NMF was one of America’s first diversity organizations and remains the only national organization advancing health equity at the intersection of wealth and health. It advances equitable health workforce development so that everyone can access culturally competent, high-quality health care. NMF also works to increase the number of clinicians underrepresented in medicine who serve as Principal Investigators and increase underrepresented patient engagement and participation in clinical research so that treatment and preventative regimens are thoroughly investigated across all populations. 

Biography

Michellene Davis is the National Medical Fellowships, Inc. (NMF) President and Chief Executive Officer. Davis is among Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Minority Leaders in Healthcare, Becker's Hospital Black Healthcare Leaders to Know in 2024, 2023, and 2022, and Becker’s Hospital Review's Great Leaders in Healthcare in 2022 and 2023. The National Association of Health Services Executives  awarded her their 2021 Senior Health Care Executive Award. 

Davis most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at RWJBarnabas Health, the largest academic medical center system in New Jersey and one of the largest in the nation. She founded Social Impact and Community Investment, an equity-centered, policy-led community health practice addressing the social and political determinants of health. Serving under former New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine, Davis was the first African American in state history to serve as Chief Policy Counsel, as well as the first African American and only the second women to serve as New Jersey State Treasurer. She was the youngest person to serve as CEO of the New Jersey Lottery and also served as a senior policy advisor in the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. 

She co-authored Changing Missions, Changing Lives: How a Change Agent Can Turn the Ship and Create Impact, published by ForbesBooks in 2020, which provides a blueprint for those committed to leading systems change within organizations.

Ms. Davis began her legal career as a trial litigator, is an Honors graduate of Seton Hall University and holds a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall School of Law. She holds Executive Education Certificates in Corporate Social Responsibility from the Harvard Business School and in Social Impact Strategy from the Wharton School of Business. 

Photo of NMF President and CEO Michellene Davis in front of a black background wearing an orange blouse.

Speaking Engagements

To invite Michellene Davis to speak at an upcoming event, we ask that you complete our speaker request form. Our team will review your request and get back to you within one week after form submission. Thank you.

Areas of Expertise

Michellene Davis is a highly sought-after speaker having presented to audiences as diverse as the American Cancer Society, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Milken Global Conference, TEDx Santa Barbara, and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of National Medical Fellowships. She is often asked to speak about representation in health care, why diverse leadership is needed in clinical research, the social and political determinants of health, the power of mentorship, behavioral health care, building pathways to careers in health care, leadershp in challenging times, women's leadership, and how to address mistrust in health care.

Global Advisory Council

Global Advisory Council members work with the NMF President and CEO Michellene Davis, Esq. to secure financial support, and offer strategic insight and advice to empower NMF to advance positive change. This work bolsters NMF's mission mandate and to support its scholars, alumni, and health equity stakeholders in improving health outcomes across the nation and throughout the world.