Today , President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Regina M . Benjamin as Surgeon General , Department of Health and Human Services .
Regina M . Benjamin
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Today , President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate <m> Regina M . Benjamin </m> as Surgeon General , Department of Health and Human Services .
http : / / www . whitehouse . gov / the - press - office / president - obama - announces - nominee - surgeon - general - 7 - 13 - 09
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 13 , 2009
President Obama Announces Nominee for Surgeon General
Today , President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate <m> Regina M . Benjamin </m> as Surgeon General , Department of Health and Human Services .
President Obama said , "Health care reform is about every family's health and the health of our economy .
And if there's anyone who understands the urgency of meeting this challenge in a personal and powerful way , it's the woman who will become our nation's next Surgeon General , Doctor Regina Benjamin .
I look forward working with her in the months and years ahead . "
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual today :
Regina M . Benjamin , Nominee for Surgeon General , Department of Health and Human Services
Regina M . Benjamin , MD , MBA , is Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre , Alabama .
She is the Immediate Past - Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States , and previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine .
In 2002 , she became President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama , making her the first African American woman to be president of a State Medical Society in the United States .
Dr . Benjamin holds a BS in Chemistry from Xavier University , New Orleans .
She was in the 2nd class at Morehouse School of Medicine and received her MD degree from the University of Alabama , Birmingham , as well as an MBA from Tulane University .
She completed her residency in family medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia .
Dr . Benjamin received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998 , and was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in 1995 , making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African - American woman to be elected .
Dr . Benjamin was previously named by Time Magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under . "
She was also featured in a New York Times article , "Angel in a White Coat" , as "Person of the Week" on ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings , and as "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning .
She received the 2000 National Caring Award which was inspired by Mother Teresa , as well as the papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Benedict XVI .
She is also a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award .