On the first day of Black History Month in 2024, Women of Color Online started their celebration by highlighting the African American Technologists of the Year award winners.
Out of 28 women who have won the top award at the Women of Color STEM Conference, 14 have been of Black heritage.
Women of Color Online continues to honor these remarkable individuals throughout Black History Month, recognizing their achievements in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
In October 2020, Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams received the Technologist of the Year award for her work in promoting science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine among underrepresented minorities in higher education.
In the summer of 2022, Dr. Trent-Adams was announced as the sole finalist for the position of president and CEO of The University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) at Fort Worth, making her the first Black woman to hold this role.
Dr. Trent-Adams has dedicated her career to public service, having joined the Commissioned Corps in 1992 and retired in 2020 as a Rear Admiral Upper Half in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Before joining the Commissioned Corps, she was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army and a research nurse at the University of Maryland.
More recently, Dr. Trent-Adams served as principal deputy assistant secretary for health from January 2019 to August 2020.
Prior to that, she was the deputy surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from 2015 to 2018.
She also served as the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau and Health Resources and Services Administration before becoming deputy surgeon general.
Dr. Trent-Adams has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the International Red Cross Florence Nightingale Medal and the Surgeon General’s Medallion for service as acting surgeon general.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University, a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
She is also a fellow in the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Nursing, National Academy of Practice, and the NLN Academy of Nursing Education.
