Published January 2026
Gail V. Carter-Hamilton, MSN, RN, CSN, FCPP, is a public health–grounded nurse executive whose career integrates clinical expertise, systems-level leadership, and a longstanding commitment to advancing racial equity in healthcare. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from La Salle University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Wilmington University, subsequently holding progressive clinical and administrative roles across several major hospital systems in the region.
During the COVID‑19 pandemic, Hamilton served with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, contributing to the city’s emergency response and community-focused vaccination and outreach initiatives. The department later appointed her as its inaugural Chief Racial Equity Officer, where she led the development and implementation of frameworks designed to institutionalize equity, strengthen accountability, and guide organizational decision‑making across the public health system.
Since transitioning from government service, Hamilton has continued to apply public health principles within healthcare leadership. As a senior healthcare executive, she advances strategies that reinforce system readiness, elevate community partnerships, and promote equitable, high‑quality care across diverse populations.
In this January Fellow Spotlight blog, we speak with Gail about the determinants of health, AI’s role in public health, and medical history.
What drew you to the College to seek Fellowship?
I was drawn to the College because it sits at the intersection of science, history, ethics, and public accountability. The Fellowship appealed to me because, as a public health nurse, my work has always been shaped by the understanding that health outcomes are not produced primarily in clinics, but in communities, policies, and systems. The College offers a space where those upstream forces—racism, poverty, housing, technology, and political will—are taken seriously as determinants of health. Fellowship represented an opportunity to contribute to and learn from a community that understands medicine not only as a technical practice but also as a social responsibility.
You used the terms “upstream interventions” and “upstream approaches.” What do these mean in your work?
Upstream approaches focus on the conditions that shape health long before illness appears. In public health nursing, this means asking not only how to treat disease, but why certain populations are consistently exposed to risk while others are protected. Housing stability, environmental safety, digital access, education, and healthcare design all operate upstream. When we invest in these areas, we reduce the burden of illness downstream. Upstream interventions allow public health to move from crisis response to prevention, from individual care to population-level impact.
How should public health approach the changes in data collection and analysis being brought on by artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence has the potential to dramatically improve surveillance, prediction, and resource allocation, but it also carries the risk of amplifying bias, obscuring accountability, and excluding marginalized populations. Public health must approach AI as a powerful but ethically fragile tool. We need transparent algorithms, community-informed governance, and continuous bias auditing. Data should not only be technically accurate; it must be socially just. If we allow AI to be driven solely by efficiency rather than equity, we risk automating the very disparities public health exists to eliminate.
Philadelphia is a relatively poor city for its size. How can public health maximize impact in an era of shrinking budgets?
In cities like Philadelphia, maximizing impact requires strategic alignment rather than isolated programs. Public health must work across sectors—healthcare, housing, education, transportation, and community organizations—using shared goals and data to guide investments. We also must prioritize upstream interventions, because prevention is far more cost-effective than crisis care. Perhaps most importantly, we must leverage community knowledge. Residents understand the barriers they face better than any institution, and meaningful partnerships allow limited resources to be used where they will do the most good.
What is the value of teaching medical history to practicing healthcare professionals?
Medical history provides a lens through which clinicians can see how power, bias, and social values shape medical practice. It reminds us that medicine has not always been neutral or benevolent, particularly for marginalized communities. Understanding this history helps clinicians recognize contemporary forms of inequity—whether in clinical guidelines, technology, or access to care. In an era of rapid technological change, including the rise of artificial intelligence, historical awareness is essential for ensuring that innovation does not replicate past harms in new forms.
What is your favorite part of the College?
What I value most about the College is its commitment to integrating science with ethics and history. It creates a space where difficult questions about power, equity, and responsibility are not avoided, but explored. That intellectual honesty is especially important at a time when public trust in institutions is fragile and when technological change is outpacing our ethical frameworks.
What do you wish more people knew about the College?
I wish more people understood that the College is not only a steward of the past, but an active force shaping the future of public health. Its work connects history, policy, and scientific inquiry in ways that help us navigate contemporary challenges—whether those challenges involve pandemics, structural inequities, or emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. The College plays a critical role in reminding us that progress in medicine must always be guided by equity, accountability, and public good.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I am deeply grateful to the Fellowship for its support of the work I do in our community and across the city. It is an honor to work alongside others who share the same dedication to equity, public health, and social responsibility. Together, we are shaping a future where health is not a privilege, but a shared right.