Dr. Henderson most recently served as the Director of the Office of Communications and Community Relations (OCCR) within the District of Columbia’s Department of Health (DC Health). In this position, she served as the spokesperson for DC Health and was responsible for day-to-day communication operations and the development and implementation of a comprehensive communications strategy with short-and long-term goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a pivotal role by developing and implementing communication and outreach strategies that ensured all District residents were kept abreast of resources and services available in the city as well as what steps to take to remain vigilant and safe. Based on her work during the COVID response, she is nationally recognized as a leader in risk communications, misinformation, and building public trust through public health communication and outreach. Dr. Henderson has had multiple speaking engagements where she outlined the communication strategy for the District and how her team focused on combatting misinformation. In May 2022, Dr. Henderson and her team developed the District’s communications strategy and successfully led communication efforts for the mpox public health occurrence.
In February 2023, Dr. Henderson was officially installed as the Vice President of the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC). As a member of the board, she has been able to work collaboratively with colleagues across the country to improve public health information and identify resources needed for communicators in the post-pandemic communication landscape.
Prior to joining DC Health, she served nine years as a Senior Strategic Communications Specialist with Booz Allen Hamilton, where she directly supported federal clients with planning, implementation, and evaluation of communication and outreach efforts for health, well-being, and employment initiatives. She also led several efforts on behalf of both civil and military health clients to reach a variety of stakeholders, including healthcare providers, policy makers, beneficiaries, service members, veterans, and the general public.
Dr. Henderson has also used her communications, health disparities, and public health knowledge, experiences, and skills in the classroom. She served as an Associate Professor for the Master of Public Health Program and Assistant Professor in the Doctoral Communication Program and Department of Family and Community Medicine at Howard University; an Instructor in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs at Johns Hopkins University; and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University.
Dr. Henderson received her Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communications with a Health Communication focus from Howard University, a Master of Arts in Journalism from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Dillard University.