During his nearly 20 years in philanthropy, Dr. Dwayne Proctor has always worked to ensure that American communities were healthy and thriving. Before becoming president and CEO of the Missouri Foundation for Health in 2021, he served in a variety of roles at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In 2002, he joined as a senior communications and program officer, providing strategic guidance and resources for several child health and risk-prevention initiatives such as Nurse-Family Partnership, Free to Grow, Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol-Free, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and the National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy.

The struggle justice and equity continues with no expiration date in sight. For generations, my family have been faithful activists and up-standers in their communities and in the NAACP. Their examples motivate me to do, my part. As a NAACP Foundation trustee, I can fulfill my families' aspirations and use my unique experiences and skills to ensure that the NAACP is well-resourced and into the next century. There's a role for all of us in the NAACP, mine happens to be leading what will soon be known as the premier civil rights foundation in the nation.

In 2005, Dr. Proctor was tapped to lead RWJF's national strategies to reverse the rise in childhood obesity rates. In this role, he worked with his colleagues to promote effective changes to public policies and industry practices, test and demonstrate innovative community and school-based environmental changes, and leverage sustainable changes using both "grassroots" and "treetops" advocacy approaches to educate local and national leaders on their roles and opportunities to prevent childhood obesity.

I believe that God talks to me through other people and I spend a lot of time listening.

Prior to RWJF, Dr. Proctor was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he taught courses on health communication and marketing practices to reach multicultural populations. During his Fulbright Fellowship in Senegal, West Africa, his research team investigated how HIV/AIDS prevention messages raised awareness of AIDS as a national health problem. Dr. Proctor received his doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees in marketing and communication science from the University of Connecticut. He is the former chairman of the board of directors for the Association of Black Foundation Executives and currently is the chairman of the board of trustees for the NAACP Foundation.

Dr. Proctor is excited to have recently moved to Missouri, specifically being drawn to the state's vibrant social culture and arts communities. He is devoted to his family, which includes two daughters, his father, sisters, brothers, and a large, loving extended family.