Dr. Aletha Maybank has spent her career reshaping the way the United States understands health, equity, and community well-being. A physician, public-health leader, and nationally recognized advocate, Maybank has become one of the most influential voices in the movement to address the root causes of health disparities. Her work blends medicine, public policy, and social justice in a way that few modern health leaders have achieved.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in New York, Maybank completed her medical degree at Temple University before earning her Master of Public Health from Columbia University. From early on, she saw clearly that medicine had two sides: the clinical encounters happening inside exam rooms, and the broader social conditions—housing, income, environment, racial inequality—that determine who can stay healthy in the first place. It was this recognition that shaped her path.
Her leadership became widely known when she co-founded the Center for Health Equity within the New York City Department of Health. The Center was the first of its kind, focusing not only on health disparities but on the structural systems that produce them. Under her direction, the Center built partnerships with community organizations, developed local leadership programs, and reframed city health initiatives around a shared vision of fairness and access.
Maybank later stepped into a historic role: becoming the first Chief Health Equity Officer of the American Medical Association. In this national leadership position, she pushed the medical world to rethink long-standing inequities—both in patient care and in the health workforce itself. Her work helped bring public attention to racial inequities in outcomes, medical school access, maternal mortality, and representation in medical leadership.
What makes Maybank stand out is not just her advocacy, but her ability to translate big ideas into institutional change. At the AMA, she helped launch major initiatives promoting equitable medical education, culturally competent care, and public-facing campaigns to elevate understanding of health equity as a fundamental part of quality medical practice.
Beyond the policy realm, Maybank is also recognized as a powerful communicator. Her writing and public speaking routinely break down complicated public-health concepts into accessible, human-centered stories. She has become a sought-after voice during national discussions about health justice, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when disparities became more visible than ever.
Today, Dr. Maybank continues to champion a vision of U.S. health care grounded in fairness, dignity, and community partnership. Her belief is simple but profound: health equity is not a specialty; it is core to good medicine. Through her leadership, she’s helping reshape not only how medical institutions think, but how the entire country understands the meaning of health.
