Roger A. Mitchell, Jr., M.D.

Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr. is the immediate past president of the National Medical Association and a board-certified forensic pathologist with two decades of experience. He has conducted and managed thousands of autopsies and is nationally recognized for his work at the intersection of medicine, public health, and justice. Most recently, he served as President of Howard University Hospital, one of the nation’s historic academic safety-net hospitals. He also served as Chief Medical Officer of the Howard University Faculty Practice Plan and Chair of the Department of Pathology.

Before joining Howard University, Dr. Mitchell served as Chief Medical Examiner for Washington, DC from 2014 to 2021 and later as Interim Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as Mass Fatality Manager for the Nation’s Capital.

An internationally recognized authority on deaths in custody, Dr. Mitchell has delivered nearly 200 scientific lectures and authored 17 peer-reviewed articles. He contributed to the 2025 National Academies report, Strengthening the U.S. Medicolegal Death Investigation System: Lessons from Deaths in Custody. His co-authored book, Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It, is accompanied by the podcast Official Ignorance, nominated for a NAACP Image Award. His expertise has been featured on Dateline with Lester Holt, PBS Frontline, and Meet the Press.

Dr. Mitchell trained at Howard University, Rutgers–New Jersey Medical School, George Washington University Hospital, and the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He is an ordained minister and elder at New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Married nearly 24 years, he is the father of three children.