Dr. Angelita Howard, an educational pioneer, author, and CEO of Improving Access, Inc., stands as the Founding Dean for Online Education and Expanded Programs at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). With exceptional leadership, she has spearheaded the creation of transformative programs like the Master of Science in Biotechnology (MSBT), Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI), and Doctorate of Health Administration (DHA). Dr. Howard’s innovative teaching methods have significantly increased diversity in the student body. As a certified clinical research coordinator, she actively contributes to research on educational interventions, publishing articles and presenting findings at national and international conferences. Her diverse educational background, advocacy for diversity, and inclusion have earned her prestigious awards, and her success in securing funding demonstrates the profound impact of her work on the biotechnology and health informatics workforce. Angelita is also a devoted daughter, mother, community leader, and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Her recent book, “Authentic Leadership: Navigating Success One Chapter at a Time,” reflects her commitment to leadership and success, making her a valued advocate for underrepresented communities and shaping the future of education.
Q: What was your main driving point to getting involved in your type of work?
A: I’ve always enjoy making things work and looking at things from a 50-foot view, but wanting to make sure on the ground level things are moving and pushing it through. But what really drove me to the educational side is when I’m able to tell my story. It was the feeling of being rejected. I did an undergrad degree in music and I wanted to be this famous opera singer. I was going to go to New York, Paris, London everywhere and I was going to be that person. Well my first audition out of undergrad I went to an audition at the Atlanta Symphony, I’ll never forget. I thought I did a bang up job, I went in there and sung my heart out, only to be rejected. I thought it was a rejection. But it really wasn’t a rejection. And so when people read my book, one of the things I talk about is mentorship. I had the right mentor. My mentor had passed away, unfortunately, before my audition, so I didn’t really have the person in my life to say, ‘Hey, you don’t necessarily start off on the stage. You start off in the course. You work your way to the stage.’
I realized now, of course they weren’t rejecting me, Angelita, the person. I was not ready. It didn’t mean that I didn’t have the skill set. It didn’t mean that my skills were not going to grow. It was just at that time, I wasn’t ready for what they were looking for at that particular time. I needed to develop more. I needed to mature more. ‘No’ has fueled me to realign, readjust and get back out there. These are some of the things that I share as people think about team building programs, building processes and those little stumbling blocks that happen.
Q: What has surprised you the most about yourself and your perspective of success throughout that book writing process?
A: That’s a great question. I think the ability to overcome negativity. That’s difficult. Because you want people to support and you want people to engage, and a lot of the work that I’ve done a lot of times people have said, it should not be done — it cannot be done. But yet, years later, it ends up being probably one of the most sought after programs or opportunities. So had I listened to the negativity that surrounded me, I would have just given up. I would have been okay with just being normal or average, or just with the status quo. Success is defined in so many different measures. Success for me, is going to sleep at night. Success for me is making sure that one more person has an opportunity to go to college. I didn’t say 50 more people, just one more person. We have to stop allowing society to define what success measures are for us.
Q: What is one of the biggest challenges that you encounter in people’s experience?
A: One of those challenges is having people not stigmatize online learning or have them not stigmatize this method of learning. People don’t always want to say, ‘I’m in the online program.’ People have made it a mockery because you have these different places just popping up doing any kind of thing. The other side to that, from a personal side, is being a black female in a higher leadership position. If you’re not careful, when you’re passionate, you’re labeled as being aggressive, or the Mad Black Woman. Or you can’t control your emotions. I’ve been in a meeting where I was sitting down amongst my peers and colleagues, and a white male came in (he didn’t know me) and suggested that I take the minutes because I must be the secretary. I politely told him, ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going to do it, but you certainly can.’
Q: How do you maintain balance within your life?
A: So I heard a person say, ‘there’s not balance there’s sanity.’ As I’ve gotten older, and a little more wiser, when you are after certain types of work, and you’re after the grind, you don’t have balance. Iif you want to go and grow and build, then there are seasons in your life that you have to answer phone calls a little later, answer emails a little later. If you’re an entrepreneur, you don’t get the same check every week. So you got to do what you have to do to make sure that you are getting what you need. And so that you can pay yourself, your organization, your company and things of that nature. Balance in my work is not a reality. However, being sane and having sanity and doing things that I enjoy to help me to unplug and unwind is what I strive for.
Q: If you could give the younger version of yourself any piece of advice what would that advice be?
A: The advice I would give myself would be take more coding classes. Thinking back now I would tell myself to invest more energy and time in technology because people are going to need it. And people are going to rely on folk who have that knowledge to build and be the guide for that. But I also tell my younger self to enjoy life a little bit more. I don’t think I did that as much because I was always grinding.
To stay connected to Dr. Angelita Howard:
Instagram: @angelitahoward01
Website: ImprovingAccess.net
LinkedIn: Angelita Howard, EdD, MBA, MAT, FACHDM, LSSYB
Order the book AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP: Navigating Success One Chapter at a Time here.
