With over three decades of service and a proven track record of improving patient outcomes and optimizing health care delivery for all, Dr. Nichols has worked as Director and Commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Health; Cabinet Secretary and Board of Health Member in the administrations of two Arkansas governors; CEO of Amerigroup D.C. and Virginia; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealth Group’s Health Inclusion and Community Engagement division; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare’s National Inpatient Care Management team; Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare’s Northeast and West Regions; and National Medical Director of Clinical Performance for UnitedHealthcare-AmeriChoice.
Dr. Nichols’ steadfast commitment to and enhancement of health and wellness equity, particularly for intentionally marginalized groups, has earned her multiple recognitions and awards, including Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business, The Daily Record Maryland’s Top 100 Women, Modern Health Care Magazine’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Health Care, and the National Congress of Black Women Inc.
Dr. Nichols’ twelve-plus years of work with NMF included serving as a volunteer, a Board Member, Vice Chair, Interim CEO at a time when the organization was at an inflection point, and Chair. In addition to countless hours of service, Dr. Nichols and her husband, Ronnie, donated over $1 million to NMF during her tenure.
Dr. Nichols earned her undergraduate degree from Columbia College in Missouri, her graduate degree in biology from Tennessee State University, and her medical degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medical Science, at which she also served as secretary of the institution’s Student National Medical Association chapter, chief resident, and completed a fellowship in occupational and environmental medicine. She is a graduate of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Leadership Institute at University of California, Berkeley, and earned her Master of Science in Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.