Keynote

Biosketch:

Dr. Charlene E. Le Fauve, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health, Senior Advisor, Scientific Workforce Diversity

Charlene E. Le Fauve, PhD, became the first Senior Advisor to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD) in December 2016. In this role, Le Fauve supports Hannah Valantine who serves as the NIH COSWD as she leads NIH’s effort to diversify the biomedical research workforce by developing a vision and comprehensive strategy to expand recruitment and retention, and promote inclusiveness and equity throughout the biomedical research enterprise.

Le Fauve came to COSWD from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where she served as Deputy Director of the Office for Research on Disparities & Global Mental Health. Prior to joining NIMH, she was a Senior Policy Coordinator at the Department of Health and Human Services where she led coordination and clearance activities of regulations, policy, and other reports for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and for implementation of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. Le Fauve also served as Branch Chief for the Co-occurring and Homeless Activities Branch at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Division of State and Community Assistance where she was responsible for oversight and implementation of federal programs to treat individuals and families who experience both mental illnesses and substance use disorders. She has held positions at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Office of Science Policy and Communications, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Division of Treatment and Recovery Research. Before entering federal service, she served as an Assistant Professor of Human Genetics and Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), with an adjunct position in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine. Le Fauve studied clinical psychology and behavioral medicine at the University of Georgia after completing her undergraduate education at Howard University. She completed her post-graduate work in the field of addiction medicine with an emphasis on perinatal addicted women and the treatment of co-occurring mental illness, addiction, and chronic pain at MCV/VCU. In addition to a dedicated career as a transformative leader in the federal government, Le Fauve is a past recipient of awards and recognition from the Secretary of Health and Human Services for her contributions to improve mental health services and from the White House for superb performance.