Serving as Technologist of the Year during a pandemic meant less travel. However, Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams said she still was able to share her message of inclusion and diversity.
Trent-Adams participated in meetings via Zoom and Teams and gave speeches on leadership. During many of her encounters, students asked how to follow her trailblazing path. Professional women and faculty inquired about juggling job responsibilities, handling competitiveness, and maintaining a good balance.
“You are not competing with anybody else except yourself,” she would advise. “Your life experiences have value and will bring tremendous value to whatever company, university, or your venture.”
Trent-Adams, who has a Ph.D. in public policy with a health concentration and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for health with the United States Public Health Service.
As a clinician and administrator, she impacted systems of care to improve public health for marginalized populations domestically and internationally. She continued this work as the deputy surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from 2015 to 2018.
In this role, Trent-Adams was a trusted advisor, providing support on various critical issues, including efforts to combat the opioid crisis and the operations of the Commissioned Corps. Trent-Adams also stressed the importance of women creating their “own pathway to success” and building their support base.
She has served as senior vice president and chief strategy officer of the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) since the fall of 2020. Before retiring from the uniformed branch of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS), she spent more than 25 years in service.
From 2015 through 2018, she led more than 6,000 officers on the front lines of public health as deputy surgeon general. Trent-Adams held the position of acting surgeon general in 2017, the first non-physician to hold the spot.
Prior, Trent-Adams worked in the HIV/AIDS Bureau managing the $2.3 billion Ryan White Program, which funds medical care, treatment, referrals, and support services for uninsured and underserved people living with HIV. From 2013 to 2016, she served as USPHS's Chief Nurse Officer.
