Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA is the Founder and CEO of Bayou Clinic, and was the 18th United States Surgeon General (2009-2013).

As U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Benjamin oversaw the operational command of 6,500 uniformed public health officers who serve in locations around the world to promote and protect the health of the American People. As chair of the National Prevention Council – 17 cabinet-level Federal Agency Heads, she led the development of the National Prevention Strategy: America’s Plan for Better Health and Wellness.

In 1995, she was the first physician under the age of 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Other past board memberships included the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kaiser Family Foundation Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Catholic Health Association, and Morehouse School of Medicine.

She currently serves on the boards of Kaiser Hospitals and Health Plan; Ascension Health Alliance; ConvaTec PLC; Computer Technology Systems Inc (CPSI); and the American Heart Association.

Dr. Benjamin is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

In 1998 Dr. Benjamin was the United States recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. She received the 2000 National Caring Award, which was inspired by Mother Teresa and was recognized with the Papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Ponticifice from Pope Benedict XVI. In 2008, she was honored with a MacArthur Genius Award Fellowship. In 2011, Dr. Benjamin became the recipient of the Chairman’s Award at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards. In May 2013, Reader’s Digest, ranked her #22 of the “100 Most Trusted People in America”.