The National Medical Association introduced the 27 members of its Board of Trustees for the 2026-27 term during the organization’s Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico last month.
Brandi Kaye Freeman, M.D., MS, FAAP, a Colorado pediatrician, was sworn in as the NMA’s 127th president. Freeman, who will serve a one-year term, previously served as Region VI trustee and speaker of the House of Delegates. She succeeds Roger A. Mitchell Jr., M.D., a forensic pathologist in Washington, D.C. With the conclusion of his presidential term, Mitchell will serve as the NMA’s immediate past president.
Priscilla M. Mpasi, M.D., FAAP, a Pennsylvania pediatrician and Region II trustee, was elected chair of the NMA Board of Trustees.
The swearing-in of Freeman and election of Mpasi mark the first time two pediatricians have simultaneously served as president of the NMA and chair of its Board of Trustees.
Javette C. Orgain, M.D., MPH, FAAFP, RP, an Illinois family medicine physician, was elected speaker of the House of Delegates. Orgain served as the NMA’s 100th president from April to August 2000.
Michael G. Knight, M.D., MSHP, FACP, an internal medicine and obesity medicine physician in Washington, D.C., was elected president-elect. Knight served as chair of the NMA Board of Trustees during the 2025-26 term. He will be installed as NMA president in August 2027 during the Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in Baltimore, MD.
Other members of the Executive Committee of the NMA Board of Trustees for 2026-27 are:
- Stacy Hunt, M.D., a California dermatologist and Region VI trustee, secretary of the Board of Trustees.
- George Barnett, M.D., an Ohio family medicine physician, treasurer.
- Yvonne Collins, M.D., an Illinois gynecologic oncologist and Region IV trustee, chair of the Finance Committee.
- Damali Campbell Oparaji, M.D., a New York obstetrician-gynecologist and Region I trustee, the at-large trustee on the Executive Committee.
New members of the Board of Trustees are:
- Perisco Wofford, M.D., a Tennessee nephrologist, Region III trustee.
- Abena Knight, M.D., a Washington pediatrician, Region VI trustee.
Returning members of the Board of Trustees are:
- Juana Hutchinson-Colas, M.D., a New Jersey obstetrician-gynecologist, corporate trustee.
- Glenn McWilliams, M.D., a New York urologist, Region I trustee.
- Rodney Reid, M.D., a South Carolina rheumatologist, Region III trustee.
- Dionne Hart, M.D., a Minnesota addiction medicine psychiatrist, Region IV trustee.
- Maurice Sholas, M.D., Ph.D., a Louisiana physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, Region V trustee.
- Melissa Walker, D.O., MPA-HS, a Texas family medicine physician, Region V trustee.
- Christle Nwora, M.D., an adolescent medicine fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Postgraduate Section trustee.
- Kailyn Geter, a fourth-year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine and the 64th national president of the Student National Medical Association, student trustee.
Regional chairs serving on the NMA Board of Trustees are:
- Monique DeFour Jones, M.D., a New York obstetrician-gynecologist, Region I chair.
- Krystilyn Washington, M.D., a Virginia obstetrician-gynecologist, Region II chair.
- Brian Shackleford, M.D., a North Carolina internist, Region III chair.
- Lindi Randall-Hayes, M.D., FAAEM, FAECP, an Illinois emergency medicine physician, Region IV chair.
- Derick Young, M.D., a Texas family medicine physician, Region V chair.
- Khadijah Lang, M.D., a California family medicine physician, Region VI chair.
Additional elected officers of the House of Delegates serving on the NMA Board of Trustees are:
- Lindi Randall-Hayes, M.D., FAAEM, FAECP, an Illinois emergency medicine physician, vice speaker of the House of Delegates.
- Michael A. Harrell Jr., M.D., a Texas ophthalmologist, secretary of the House of Delegates
Members of the NMA Board of Trustees are elected by physicians and medical students representing 53 state, district and territorial medical societies and 26 scientific sections. The representatives gather during the annual meeting of the House of Delegates, the NMA’s policymaking body.
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About the National Medical Association:
The National Medical Association is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing Black physicians and health professionals in the U.S. and promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. We serve as the voice of Black physicians and a leading voice for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities and promotion of optimal health. To learn more about the NMA, please visit https://www.nmanet.org/.
