National Council Of Negro Women Hires New President And CEO Shavon Arline-Bradley
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today (Jan. 24), the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) announced Shavon Arline-Bradley was hired to serve as the organization’s first president and chief executive officer. After 88 years, the organization changed its governance structure to work more efficiently.
“We are excited to have hired Shavon as our new president and CEO. She is an extraordinary communicator, and her expertise in the areas of public health and social justice is impressive,” said Dr. A. Lois Keith, newly elected board chair of NCNW. “She will exceed expectations because these are the areas in which NCNW would like to continue, as we bridge the generational gap.”
Rev. Arline-Bradley, who is also an ordained minister, brings 21 years of experience in healthcare, equity diversity & inclusion (EDI), government affairs, and executive leadership. She is the founding principal and CEO of R.E.A.C.H. Beyond Solutions, a public health, advocacy, and executive leadership firm promoting EDI, political and organizational strategy, risk management, government affairs, and technical assistance. Under her leadership, the firm’s gross profit grew exponentially in 5 years by broadening its client base to include the federal government, foundation, corporate, non-profit, and political candidate entities in the United States and the Netherlands.
Prior to starting her firm, she served as senior advisor and director of external engagement during the Obama Administration in the Department of Health & Human Services for the 19th U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, where she worked with congressional and global leaders to advance the administration’s public health agenda of building bi-partisan policies and solidifying public-private partnership opportunities to advance domestic and global health.
Before her tenure in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) headquarters, Rev. Arline-Bradley served as the executive vice president of strategic planning & partnerships, as well as former chief of staff, where she managed over $30 million portfolio and senior director of health programs for 2,200 chapters and over 500,000 members.
Because of her passion for advancing EDI and improving the health and social outcomes of the most vulnerable, Rev. Arline-Bradley co-founded The Health Equity Cypher Group, a collective of health leaders advancing EDI and executive leadership in all sectors.
She is a community advocate serving as president & chairman of Delta for Women in Action, a 501(c)4 organization, the vice-chair of the NAACP Board of Directors Health Committee, and the immediate past co-chair of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Social Action Commission. Rev. Arline-Bradley also serves as an advisory member of the Oprah Winfrey Network initiative “OWN Your Health.” In addition, she is an active member of the American Public Health Association, the Links, Inc., and Jack & Jill of America, Inc.
A southern New Jersey native, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s in public health from Tulane University. She also graduated from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University with a Master of Divinity, where she too became an ordained minister. Rev. Arline-Bradley completed an Executive Certificate of Business Management from Howard University and an Executive Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University.
“This is an exciting time for NCNW. Shavon is a person of vision, with tremendous ideas, a broad outreach, and a flawless work record that will be recognized for years to come,” said Dr. Thelma T. Daley, NCNW’s immediate past president and chair, the last to hold the combined position in the organization’s history.
At the NCNW 60th Biennial National Convention held in December 2022, Dr. Daley adroitly shepherded the assembled delegates in the passing of the bylaws to allow the restructuring of the organization founded in 1935. This is the first time NCNW has designated separate leadership roles electing a board chair and hiring a president/CEO serving in a salaried position.
Rev. Arline-Bradley will start her new position in March 2023, while Dr. Keith took her seat as board chair in January 2023.
NCNW is an “organization of organizations,” comprised of 330 campus and community-based sections and 32 national women’s organizations that enlightens, inspires, and connects more than 2,000,000 women and men. Its mission is to lead, advocate for, and empower women of African descent, their families, and their communities. It was founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an influential educator and activist, and for more than fifty years, the iconic Dr. Dorothy Height was president of NCNW.