Helene D. Gayle

Helene Gayle was born in Buffalo, New York, to Jacob Astor Gayle, a small-business owner, and Marietta Spiller Dabney Gayle, a social worker. She attended Court Street Elementary School and Lancaster Middle School in Lancaster, New York, and in Buffalo, graduated with honors from Woodlawn Junior High School and Bennett High School (Class of 1972). After high school, Gayle attended Baldwin-Wallace College and Barnard College of Columbia University, from which she received a B.A. degree with honors in psychology in 1976. She earned an M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an M.P.H. at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (now the Bloomberg School).

Gayle is board certified in pediatrics, having completed a residency in pediatric medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Gayle completed a second residency in preventive medicine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beginning in 1984, Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focusing on global health and infectious disease prevention and control, especially HIV/AIDS. On assignment from CDC from 1992 to 1994, Gayle was the AIDS coordinator and chief of the HIV/AIDS Division at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In 1995, she was appointed as the first director of the newly created National Center on HIV, TB and STD Prevention (NCHSTP). During that time, she was named an Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral in the United States Public Health Service.

Initially on loan from the CDC, she directed the HIV, TB, and Reproductive Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2001 to 2006. During her 5 years as director, she was responsible for research, policy, public awareness, and programs on HIV/AIDS, TB, STDs and reproductive health around the world.

Gayle was president and CEO of the international humanitarian organization CARE from 2006 to 2015. She led efforts to empower girls and women around the world to bring lasting change to poor communities. Under her leadership, CARE strengthened its focus on advocacy efforts and policy work to have a long-term impact on reducing poverty across the globe. Under her leadership, Gayle introduced signature programs that focused on financial inclusion, maternal health and improving girls' access to quality primary education.

From 2015 to 2017, Gayle was president and CEO of McKinsey Social Initiative (now McKinsey.org), a nonprofit that brings together diverse stakeholders to address complex global social challenges.

In 2017, Gayle became CEO of the Chicago Community Trust (the Trust), one of the nation's oldest and largest community foundations. Under her leadership, the trust adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region. The three-part strategy to close this gap centers around growing household wealth, catalyzing neighborhood investment and building collective power. Gayle is recognized internationally as an expert on health, global development, and humanitarian issues. She was named one of Forbes' "100 Most Powerful Women," one of NonProfit Times' "Power and Influence Top 50," and of Chicago Magazine's "Chicago's 50 Most Powerful Women." She been featured by media outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, ForbesWoman, Glamour, O magazine, National Public Radio, and CNN.

Gayle has received 18 honorary degrees and held affiliate and adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Washington and Emory University She has published numerous scientific articles on global and domestic public health issues, poverty alleviation, gender equality, and social justice.

On July 1, 2022, Gayle began her tenure as president of Spelman College, succeeding Mary Schmidt Campbell. In 2024, she resigned as Spelman president.

On May 23, 2024, Gayle was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in honor of President William Ruto at the White House.