by Jeroslyn JoVonn
September 18, 2025
Calloway will start at BWHI on Oct. 16.
Joy D. Calloway is leveraging her experience as a nonprofit executive and values-driven strategist in her new role as president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI).
The BWHI announced Calloway’s appointment on Sept. 16. She is set to begin on Oct. 16. She replaces Linda Goler Blount, who served a decade in that role.
She joins the organization after serving as executive director of the National Medical Association (NMA), the country’s oldest and largest organization representing Black physicians.
“To lead BWHI is to step into sacred work. For decades, this organization has spoken out when others were silent,” Calloway said in a press release. “It has made room for the complexity of Black women’s health experiences and turned that lived reality into policy, into action, into power. I’m here to build on that legacy, to elevate what’s working, and to push even further into the future we all deserve. Because when we center those most impacted, we create solutions that uplift us all.”
Calloway previously guided Planned Parenthood of Greater New York through a pivotal transitional period, helping to reorganize operations and improve internal culture and public trust. She also served as CEO of New Center Community Mental Health Services in Detroit and founded the first Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Oakland County, Michigan.
“Joy Calloway is a rare kind of leader: visionary, grounded, and deeply connected to the communities we serve,” said Barbara J. Brown, Ph.D., chair of BWHI’s board of directors. “Her presence signals more than a new chapter. It signals our continued rise as a force for systems accountability, policy change, and cultural transformation. She brings with her not just experience, but a calling. I have no doubt she will lead with the courage, compassion, and conviction that this moment and this movement demand.”
Since its founding in 1983 by health activist Byllye Avery, BWHI has been a powerful advocate for Black women’s health, shaping policy, advancing culturally relevant research, and delivering programs that support wellness nationwide.
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