Linda Goler Blount joined the Black Women’s Health Imperative as the president and chief executive officer in February 2014. As president and CEO, Linda oversees the strategic direction for the Imperative and is responsible for moving the organization forward in its mission to achieve health equity, as well as reproductive justice for Black women.
Before joining the Imperative, Linda served as the vice president of programmatic impact for the United Way of Greater Atlanta, where she led the effort to eliminate inequalities in health, income, education and housing through place- and population‐based work.
Prior to that position, Linda was the first‐ever national vice president of health disparities at the American Cancer Society. There, she was responsible for providing strategic vision and leadership to the Society and its 12 geographic divisions to reduce cancer incidence and mortality among underserved populations and to develop a nationwide health equity policy.
With more than 25 years of experience in the public, for‐profit and nonprofit sectors, Linda has a distinguished career that includes successful tenures at The Coca‐Cola Company, leading strategic business initiatives, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as an expert scientist. She also has extensive international health expertise and has served as a consultant to government ministries in Germany, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, where she lived for four years.
Linda is a sought‐after speaker and a member of the American Public Health Association and the National Association of Health Services Executives. She serves on the Community Health Charities Board, the University of Michigan School of Public Health Summer Enrichment Program Board and is past chair of the University of Michigan School of Public Health Alumni Board of Governors. She previously served on the Emory University Center for Ethics Advisory Board, and the Morehouse School of Medicine Public Health Program Advisory Committee.
A Michigan native, Linda holds a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering/Operations Research from Eastern Michigan University.