Sylvia Trent-Adams
Director Since: 2020
Business Experience and Qualifications: The Board has concluded that Rear Admiral Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, is qualified to serve on the Board because of her distinguished career as a healthcare professional and leader. She served in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from 1992-2020, which included service as Deputy Surgeon General and Acting Surgeon General of the United States. In leadership roles in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health prior to her recent retirement, Rear Admiral Trent-Adams’ decades of service have included directing and coordinating major federal health programs and developing policy and legislative priorities for our nation’s public health. She served the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps in many capacities, including as deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau, where she assisted in managing the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a landmark program of primary medical care, medication, and essential support services for more than half a million uninsured people with HIV. Prior to joining the Public Health Service, Rear Admiral Trent-Adams was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army, with a clinical practice in trauma, oncology, community health, and infectious disease. Among her many awards and decorations, Rear Admiral Trent-Adams has received the Meritorious Service Medal for leadership for her work on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the International Red Cross Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international honor given to a nurse. After leaving the Public Health Service in August 2020, Rear Admiral Trent-Adams is now the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for the University of North Texas Health Science Center.