Previously, Dr. Whitehead held the role of Senior Vice President for Strategy and Chief of Staff at Medgar Evers College. There, she also served as Accreditation Liaison Officer to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Her leadership was pivotal in advancing strategic planning, increasing fundraising, and building partnerships with organizations such as JP Morgan Chase, Con Edison, and Voya Financial. She secured support from the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation for the “Spring Forward: Bridges to the Baccalaureate” program and co-authored the Brooklyn Recovery Corps Program, which received part of a $20.4 million grant from New York City to support community recovery through paid internships.
Dr. Whitehead’s earlier experience includes serving as Vice President and Chief of Staff at the University of Maine, where she was a senior advisor to the president and managed daily operations of the president’s office. She led the completion of the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s Initial Findings and Recommendations Report and advised the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked closely with the university’s Emergency Command Center to coordinate crisis response and institutional communications.
At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Dr. Whitehead held several leadership positions, including Interim Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and Interim Provost and Vice President. She successfully guided the university through accreditation visits for programs in business, hospitality, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling, and nutrition.
Her career also includes leadership roles at West Virginia State University, Rowan University, Bowie State University, and Shaw University. Dr. Whitehead is a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Dr. Whitehead earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Norfolk State University and her Ph.D. in Genetics from North Carolina State University.
A native of Smithfield, Virginia, she is the daughter of Rev. Tommie L. Whitehead, Sr. and the late Minister Elayne Denson Whitehead, and has two siblings, Fayaunda S. Whitehead and Tommie L. Whitehead, II. Dr. Whitehead is a member of the Princess Anne Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the Princess Anne (MD) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
Salisbury, MD
