Brandi Kaye Freeman, MD, MS, a pediatrician, health services researcher and former National Minority Quality Forum 40 Under 40 honoree, has been installed as the 127th president of the National Medical Association.

Freeman assumed the leadership role during a July 28 ceremony at the NMA’s 124th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She succeeds Roger A. Mitchell Jr., MD, and becomes the first NMA president based in Colorado.

The National Medical Association is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing Black physicians and their patients. Freeman’s appointment places a longtime advocate for equitable pediatric care, physician mentorship and health policy at the head of an organization that has spent more than a century addressing racial inequities in medicine.

Her presidential theme, “Ensuring Our Living Legacy: Elucidating the NMA Blueprint for Generational Health,” calls for improving access to quality care, strengthening the physician workforce and advancing policies that support healthier families and communities across generations.

“This is a defining moment for our nation and for our profession,” Freeman said in the NMA’s announcement. She pledged to help build a future in which patients can obtain quality care, physicians have opportunities to lead and public policy reflects a commitment to health equity and justice.

Freeman is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and vice chair of Health Opportunities and Professional Engagement for the school’s Department of Pediatrics. She also serves as an attending physician at the Child Health Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Her clinical and research work focuses on reducing health inequities, improving the quality of health care delivery and identifying strategies that help children thrive during early childhood. Her leadership comes at a time when health systems and medical schools continue to examine how physician representation, institutional policies and access to care shape patient outcomes.

The Association of American Medical Colleges continues to track racial and ethnic representation throughout medical education and the physician workforce. Its workforce data show persistent differences in representation across specialties, career levels and geographic areas, reinforcing concerns about whether the nation’s medical workforce reflects the communities it serves.

For organizations such as the NMA, increasing the number and influence of Black physicians is closely connected to improving patient trust, expanding access to culturally responsive care and ensuring that communities affected by health disparities have a voice in medical and policy decisions.

A leadership journey rooted in health equity

Freeman has held several leadership positions within the NMA. Before becoming president, she served as president-elect, speaker of the House of Delegates, vice speaker, secretary and Region VI trustee.

She is the first former Student Trustee and Post Graduate Trustee to become president of the organization. Her advancement from student leadership to the NMA presidency reflects her longstanding involvement in developing and mentoring the next generation of Black physicians.

Freeman earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Duke University, with minors in chemistry and French. She later completed post-baccalaureate studies at the Mayo Clinic and received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine.

She completed her pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Children’s Center as a member of the Harriet Lane Housestaff. Freeman later earned a master’s degree in health policy research from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar.

Her national leadership was recognized early by the National Minority Quality Forum. In 2018, NMQF selected Freeman as one of its 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health.

The annual recognition honors emerging professionals whose work advances health equity, reduces disparities and improves health care for underserved populations. NMQF described its 2018 honorees as part of the next generation of leaders working to diversify the health care field and address unequal health outcomes.

Freeman has also received the American Medical Association Inspiration Award from its Women’s Health Section and was recognized as an NMA Post Graduate Top Physician Under 40. She has served as a mentor with the Tour for Diversity in Medicine since 2012 and previously served as national president of the Student National Medical Association.

In 2024, the National Academy of Medicine selected Freeman as one of the inaugural fellows in its State Health Policy Fellowship program. She was placed with the Colorado Department of Law’s Office of the Attorney General, where the program connected her health care expertise with state-level policy development.

The fellowship places health professionals in state government offices to provide research and analysis that can inform public policy. Freeman’s participation added policy experience to a career already spanning pediatric care, academic medicine, research and organizational leadership.

The NMA installed Freeman during a convention held under the theme, “The New Reconstruction: Mobilizing Healthcare Justice for a New America: Our Patients, Providers, and Policy.” The gathering brought together physicians, students, residents, researchers and policy leaders for scientific presentations, policy discussions and leadership development.

As Freeman begins her presidency, she will lead the organization through a period of continued debate over access to care, medical workforce diversity and the role of public policy in addressing health disparities.

Her journey from an NMQF 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health to president of one of the country’s most prominent medical associations also illustrates the long-term importance of identifying and supporting emerging health equity leaders. Her new position gives her a national platform to advance that work while helping shape the future of Black physician leadership and equitable health care.

Source: National Medical Association

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