One in four Americans is a member of a racial or ethnic minority group, with African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians making up more than a quarter of the nation's population.   The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2050, there will be no majority population in the United States.

But health care for many Americans in these racial and ethnic minorities has not improved sufficiently in our increasingly diverse society.  In too many cases, race or ethnicity still influence health status, access to health care, and health outcomes.  In its report, the Sullivan Commission described the current situation:  “…too many Americans are suffering life or death consequences… the time is right and our citizens are anxious for action.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Sullivan Alliance to Transform America’s Health Professions was organized in January 2005, to act on the reports and recommendations of the Sullivan Commission (Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions), and the Institute of Medicine Committee on Institutional and Policy-Level Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Healthcare Workforce (In the Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce).  The Alliance is based at the Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  The primary focus of the Alliance’s activities over the next three years will be on the health professions of medicine, dentistry, nursing,  psychology and public health with the expectation that efforts in these areas will also benefit the other health professions.

Drawing on the experience and expertise of leading health, business, community, education, and legal experts, the Sullivan Alliance will:  (1) raise awareness of the importance and value of achieving racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions; (2) disseminate information about “best practices” and resources that enhance diversity; and (3) stimulate academic programs in the  health professions of medicine, dentistry, nursing, psychology and public health to create new—or more effectively implement existing—diversity initiatives. 

Through strong leadership, deep commitment, and sustainable efforts, the Sullivan Alliance aims to transform the health professions and help eliminate the gaps in health status and access to health care that affect too many Americans.

please contact Robin H. Carle at (202) 789-6366, or email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sullivan Alliance Members

Chair: The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1989-1993
President Emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine

Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., is the founding Dean and first President of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Sullivan served as President of MSM for more than two decades, taking a hiatus from 1989 to 1993 to serve a Presidential appointment as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). On July 1, 2002, Dr. Sullivan was bestowed the honor of President Emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine.

A native of Atlanta, Dr. Sullivan graduated magna cum laude from Morehouse College in 1954, and earned his medical degree, cum laude, from Boston University School of Medicine in 1958. He is board certified in internal medicine and hematology and he is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. He served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School (1963-64), Seton Hall College of Medicine (1964-65), Boston University School of Medicine (1966-75), and Morehouse School of Medicine (1975-89; 1993-present).

In 1989, Dr. Sullivan accepted an appointment by President George H.W. Bush to head HHS, the federal agency responsible for the major health, welfare, food and drug safety, medical research and income security programs serving the American people. In January 1993, he returned to MSM and resumed the office of president.

Dr. Sullivan was the founding President of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, and he is a former member of the Joint Committee on Health Policy of the Association of American Universities and the National Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities.

He is Chairman of the National Health Museum (Washington, DC), Chairman of the President’s Council on Black Colleges and Universities, and Co-Chair of the President’s Commission on HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Sullivan served as Chairman of the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce, funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. This commission released its report, Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions, in September 2004. He currently chairs the Sullivan Alliance to Transform America's Health Professions in partnership with the Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Dr. Sullivan is married to Ginger, an attorney, and they have three children, Paul, Shanta, and Halsted.

Robin Carle is charged with managing and enhancing the Alliance’s action outreach initiative to enlist health professionals, students, corporations, associations, business leaders, government officials, the academic community, and other nonprofit and community-based organizations to     educate the public on the crucial need to increase diversity in the health professions.

 Ms. Carle is the former Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, having been elected to that position in the 104th and 105th Congresses (1995 – 1999).  Immediately prior to joining the Alliance, she was a senior vice president at Fleishman Hilliard, one of the world’s largest public relations agencies working with clients in the areas of health policy and health technology. Earlier in her career, Ms. Carle served as chief of staff to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, the chair of the Alliance.