Dr. Sharon Nicholson Harrell is the inaugural Chief Diversity Office for FirstHealth of the Carolinas, having been appointed to that role by the incoming CEO because of his vision of making the 5300-employee not-for-profit integrated healthcare system the best place to work in health care.

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Dr. Harrell facilitated the organization’s first-ever system-wide Inclusion Survey, spearheaded the inaugural launch of over 22 Listening Tour/Focus Groups, and initiated the organization’s first employee resource group. She also established the Inclusion Council, the Physician Committee on Inclusion, and the Inclusion Ambassadors, and worked in close collaboration with the groups to develop the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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Dr. Harrell’s expertise is in her ability to launch new initiatives-- her strengths lie in implementing ideas and putting strategies into place. She is very organized, gets along well with people, and enjoys leading groups with creative problem-solving with a focus on collaboration and consensus-building across stakeholder groups.

 

Dr. Harrell is credentialed as a Certified Diversity Executive by the Society of Diversity, of which she is a member. She is also a member of the Orthopaedic Diversity Leadership Consortium (ODLC) and is currently enrolled in the ODLC Strategic Diversity Leadership Certificate program at Cornell. She received her Bachelor’s in Chemistry, Doctor of Dental Surgery, and Master’s in Public Health degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she currently serves as an adjunct professor. She received an Advanced General Dentistry certificate from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.