Dr. Patrice A. Harris is among our nation’s most important and reputable medical leaders and visionaries. Her expert thoughtful leadership during the recent COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed her role as an advocate for health innovation and moving medicine toward a more equitable future. Patrice is a native Appalachian, born and educated in West Virginia, and a pioneer as the first African American woman to lead the American Medical Association.

Patrice became AMA president in June 2019 and has led the national medical conversation for a science-based approach to COVID-19, and she has also led the AMA’s efforts to end the nation’s opioid epidemic. She has been chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force since its inception in 2014, with its goal of working “across every state to eliminate barriers to treatment, provide patients with access to affordable, non-opioid pain care, and fight the stigma faced by those with substance use-disorders,” according to the AMA website.

Beyond the AMA, she has held positions of leadership with the American Psychiatric Association, the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association, the Medical Association of Georgia, and The Big Cities Health Coalition, where she chaired this forum composed of leaders from America’s largest metropolitan health departments. She also co-founded and is the CEO of eMed, a provider of at-home, rapid medical testing.

Growing up in Bluefield, West Virginia, she earned a B.A. in psychology, an M.A. in counseling psychology and a medical degree in 1992, all from West Virginia University. It was during this time that her passion for helping children emerged, and she completed her psychiatry residency and fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry at the Emory University School of Medicine.

Patrice also specializes in children’s mental health and childhood trauma and has led efforts on both local and national levels to integrate public health, behavioral health and primary care services with supports for employment, housing and education. In addition to consulting with public and private organizations about health service delivery and emerging trends, she continues her private practice, is an adjunct assistant professor in the Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and serves as an adjunct clinical assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Morehouse School of Medicine.

She also received an honorary degree from UNC Asheville and was awarded the Chancellor’s Medallion, the University’s highest distinction, given to recognize individuals who demonstrate the highest commitment to community service, national leadership and enhancement of the University.