The National Medical Association (NMA) introduced the 29 members of the Board of Trustees for the 2025-2026 calendar year at the Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly in Chicago.
Roger A. Mitchell, Jr., M.D., FASCP, a forensic pathologist in Washington, D.C., was sworn in as the 126th NMA President for a one-year term. He succeeds Virginia A. Caine, M.D., Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Marion County Public Health Department in Indianapolis, Indiana, who specializes in infectious diseases. With the conclusion of her presidential term, Dr. Caine is the NMA Immediate Past President.
Michael G. Knight, M.D., MSHP, FACP, an internal medicine and obesity medicine physician in Washington, D.C., and Region II Trustee, was elected the new Chairperson of the NMA Board of Trustees.
Brandi Kaye Freeman, M.D., MS, a pediatrician in Colorado, was elected President-Elect of the NMA. Dr. Freeman will become NMA President in July 2026.
The other Executive Committee members on the NMA Board of Trustees for 2025-2026 are:
- Priscilla Mpasi, M.D., FAAP, a pediatrician in Pennsylvania and Region II Trustee, is Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
- Melanie Hanna-Johnson, M.D., a general internal medicine specialist in Detroit, Michigan, is Speaker of the House of Delegates.
- George Barnett, M.D., a family medicine physician in Ohio, is Treasurer.
- Yvonne Collins, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist in Illinois and Region IV Trustee, is Finance Committee Chair.
- Damali Campbell Oparaji, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist in New York and Region I Trustee, is the Trustee-at-large member of the Executive Committee.
The new members of the Board of Trustees are:
- Dionne Hart, M.D., an addiction medicine psychiatrist in Minnesota, is Region IV Trustee.
- Stacey Hunt, M.D., a dermatologist in California, is a Region VI Trustee.
- Christle Nwora, M.D., an adolescent medicine fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is the Post Graduate Section Trustee.
- Ms. Kailyn Geter, a medical student at Howard University College of Medicine, is the Student Trustee
Returning members of the Board of Trustees are:
- Juana Hutchinson-Colas, an obstetrician-gynecologist in New Jersey, is Corporate Trustee.
- Glenn McWilliams, M.D., a urologist in New York, is a Region I Trustee.
- Edith Smith-Rayford, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist in Mississippi, is a Region III Trustee.
- Rodney Reid, M.D., a rheumatologist in South Carolina, is a Region III Trustee.
- Maurice Sholas, M.D., PhD., a physical medicine & rehabilitation physician in Louisiana, is a Region V Trustee.
- Melissa Walker, D.O., MPA-HS, a family medicine physician in Texas, is a Region V Trustee.
The Regional Chairs on the NMA Board of Trustees are:
- Monique DeFour Jones, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist in New York, is Region I Chair.
- Carole Guy, M.D., a pulmonary critical care physician in Delaware, is Region II Chair
- Ninita Brown, M.D., an ophthalmologist in Georgia, is Region III Chair.
- Lindi Randall-Hayes, M.D., FAAEM, FAECP, an emergency medicine physician in Illinois, is Region IV Chair.
- Derick Young, M.D., a family medicine physician in Texas, is Region V Chair.
- Khadijah Lang, M.D., a family medicine physician in California, is Region VI Chair
The additional officers of the House of Delegates on the NMA Board of Trustees are:
- Jennifer Walton, M.D., MPH, FAAP, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician in Florida, is Vice-Speaker of the House of Delegates.
- Lindi Randall-Hayes, M.D., FAAEM, FAECP, an emergency medicine physician in Illinois, is Secretary of the House of Delegates.
- Lawrence Sanders, M.D., is an internal medicine physician in Georgia, is Chair of the Committee on Administrative and Financial Affairs (CAFA).
Members of the NMA Board of Trustees are elected by physicians and medical students representing the 53 state, district, and territory medical societies and the 26 scientific sections who gather for the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates, the NMA’s policy-making body.
The National Medical Association (NMA) stands as the collective voice of African American physicians, tirelessly championing parity and justice in medicine while striving to eliminate disparities in health.
The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA is a national professional and scientific organization representing the interests of more than 50,000 African American physicians and the patients they serve. NMA is committed to improving the quality of health among minorities and disadvantaged people through its membership, professional development, community health education, advocacy, research, and partnerships with federal and private agencies. Throughout its history, the National Medical Association has focused primarily on health issues related to African Americans and medically underserved populations; however, its principles, goals, initiatives, and philosophy encompass all ethnic groups.
