Millicent Gorham, PhD (Hon), MBA, FAAN
Millicent Gorham was appointed on May 2, 2022 as the inaugural Executive Director of Movement is Life (MIL), a new nonprofit focused on physical activity and improved mobility; reducing and eliminating health disparities; health equity; and improved health outcomes and quality of life. She previously served on the MIL volunteer steering committee for 11 years.
Millicent is the former executive director of the National Black Nurses Association, Inc., which represents 308,000 African American nurses in the United States. Millicent was appointed to that position in October 1995. She handled administrative, fund development, advocacy, communications, marketing, conference planning and program implementation, with a staff of five and a budget of $2.4 million.
Millicent has more than 35 years of government relations experience. For four years, she worked as the health legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Louis Stokes, (D-OH). She was the coordinator of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust and served on the steering committee of the CBC Health Brain Trust for 18 years. She served as the assistant director of government relations for the American Optometric Association for eight years. Furthermore, for four years, Millicent worked as the director of government relations for the National Rural Health Association.
Millicent joined the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention as the chair of the Board of Directors in 2022. In 2021, Millicent was appointed to The Rockefeller Foundation’s Equitable Vaccination Advisory Council and the Edge Runners National Advisory Council of the American Academy of Nursing. In 2020, she was appointed to the Rare Disease Diversity Coalition hosted by the Black Women’s Health Imperative. Simmons University elected Millicent to its Board of Trustees in 2019. In 2017, she was elected to the National Board of the Association of Black Cardiologists; and was appointed to the Advisory Council to the CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. She was appointed by the Washington, DC Chairman of the City Council to serve on the Board of Directors of the United Medical Center, 2017-2020. Millicent served on the Pfizer, Inc. Multicultural Advisory Board from 2016-2022. For three years, she served on the Diversity Advisory Board for MGM Resorts International.
The National Black Nurses Association honored Millicent with the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award. The National Action Network honored Millicent with the MLK Day Labor Leader of the Year Award in 2021. In 2020, Millicent was the recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award from the American Academy of Nursing and the Diversity and Inclusion Award from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
In 2011, Millicent was awarded an honorary degree from Simmons College, her alma mater and became an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She received an MBA from Howard University, with a concentration in health services.