Helene D. Gayle

Helene D. Gayle is the former CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, the region's community foundation, connecting the generosity of donors with community needs to improve metropolitan Chicago. Under her leadership, the Trust adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region. She is also the 11th President of Spelman College.

Prior to The Chicago Community Trust, Dr. Gayle was CEO at McKinsey Social Initiative, a nonprofit organization that implements programs that bring together varied stakeholders to address complex global social challenges. Previously, she was president and CEO of CARE USA, a leading international humanitarian organization. An expert on global development, humanitarian, and health issues, she spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. Dr. Gayle then worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues.

Dr. Gayle serves on public company and non-profit boards, including The Coca-Cola Company, Organon, Palo Alto Networks, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and New America. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, Council on Foreign Relations, American Public Health Association, National Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. She was appointed by President Biden to serve on the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States and also serves on the CDC Advisory Committee to the Director.

Named one of Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Women,” she has authored numerous articles on global and domestic public health issues, poverty alleviation, gender equality, and social justice.

Dr. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. She earned a BA in psychology at Barnard College, an MD. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins University. She is a tenured Full Professor in the Department of Environmental and Health Sciences at Spelman College and has received 18 honorary degrees.