Howard Brown Health announced the board of directors has elected Chef Fresh Roberson (they/them, she/her) as its next chair after serving as executive vice chair, secretary and board member at large since July 2016.
Roberson is the first Black woman to be chosen as Howard Brown Health board chair. Her tenure began July 1, 2021.
Roberson succeeds Mario Treto, Jr., who was the first Latinx board chair. He had held the position since July 1, 2017.
"To begin serving as Chair of Howard Brown Health's Board of Directors during a pandemic is a challenge I am ready for," said Roberson in a press release. "I'm thankful to Mario Treto Jr., David Ernesto Munar, the staff of Howard Brown and my board colleagues for guiding Howard Brown through the pandemic response to date. Their work has established Howard Brown as a leader in the fight for health equity.
"In addition to furthering our COVID-19 activities, I'm looking forward to providing leadership as Howard Brown prepares for a major expansion; addressing the connections between food access and health care outcomes; focusing on Howard Brown's South Side presence and partnerships; and supporting LGBTQ youth through a new, expanded Broadway Youth Center. I will also focus on organizational efforts to continue expanding Howard Brown's services for families, including pediatrics, family planning services, and OB/GYN offerings."
Roberson is the founder of Fresher Together LLC, a collaborative food and farming project for healing, economic development, training and retreat. They are deeply passionate about food programming being commonplace in healthcare and providing healthcare free of body-shaming.
Howard Brown's board also elected officers Jared Lewis, as executive vice chair; Austin Baidas, as treasurer; B. Pagels-Minor, as secretary; and Nic Belgrave, Jared Lewis and Mike Mazzeo, as vice chairs at large. The board also elected the following individuals as new board members in 2020 and 2021. They include Tomilola Akinfe, DNP, APHN, RN; Maliyah Arnold; Elliot Crigger; Javier Guevara; Cris Johnson; Jamie Newman; Jennifer Purcell, JD; and Rashad Robison.