The Fem Word Talks Life & Values With RADM Denise Hinton, FDA Chief Scientist
RADM Denise Hinton, Chief Scientist at the U.S. FDA (photo courtesy of subject)
The past few years have been filled with change. New conversations have been started and sustained, new movements have arisen, and new figures have emerged to take up both official and unofficial leadership roles in American institutions.
One of those figures is Rear Admiral Denise Hinton, the current FDA Chief Scientist and - more recently - the head of the FDA’s coronavirus task force. Her roles both in and out of government have been perfect examples of how women, especially women of color, are seizing their moment and taking on the mantle of leadership within the historically white, male STEM space.
RADM Hinton’s story is a quintessentially American one. A self-described “military brat,” she grew up in an environment built upon service and patriotism in a variety of ways.
“Integrity, respect, honor, duty, discipline, selflessness, personal courage, and allegiance to our country were exemplified by my family and many of my extended family, which was comprised of our diverse community of multidisciplinary service members and civilian friends,” she says of her upbringing. “Those attributes and those smart and compassionate people inspired me to serve in uniform as an officer and nurse.”
RADM Hinton and her two children, Derrick and Dominique (photo courtesy of subject)
This theme of community influence runs through much of Ms. Hinton’s story. She credits women and men of all kinds with her passion for STEM, for health, and for service, and as we spoke it became clear that her life is a colorful tapestry of these influences and the lasting legacy they’ve held through her impressive career.
One such influence, a middle school math teacher named Mrs. Joan Hoover, stands out as a perfect example of how important educators are and always have been to RADM Hinton and her mission both within and beyond her current position.
“[She] was nurturing, appropriately commanding, and very passionate about her students - about me,” says Ms. Hinton. “I appreciated her creative way of teaching and meeting each student at their level and encouraging each of us along the way. She knew I was interested in a career in healthcare and encouraged me to stay focused, stay true to myself, and was confident I would succeed in life. I had no idea what she meant then but hung on to every word.”
Those words have remained with her several decades later. She recalls a visit she had with Mrs. Hoover in 2019 when her one-time teacher was residing in a memory-care facility due to her struggles with age-induced dementia.
“Her daughter told me [not to] be disappointed if she didn’t remember me. I wanted to see her to tell her how much I appreciated her from the time she taught me in junior high school and each time we connected over the years,” Ms.Hinton explains. “I waited in her room with her daughter while she finished dinner in the dining room. Upon entering the room, her daughter explained she had a visitor that she had not seen in almost a decade. She turned the corner, saw me, and reached out for a hug as she called my name. She made me feel special at 13 and just as special at 40 something!”
This kind of experience is invaluable to RADM Hinton, and the connections between the woman she is today and the other women who influenced her growth are easy to see. She has taken the drive, encouragement, and emphasis on hard work through education with her into her current role, and despite a busy schedule she still finds time to mentor students of all backgrounds as they pursue a future in STEM.
Of the current - and pressing - need for more girls and girls of color in this space, she says, “I believe what keeps girls of color out of STEM is lack of knowledge about and exposure to the various STEM fields.”
Ms. Hinton and her uncle, Medal of Honor recipient Melvin Morris (photo courtesy of subject)
She believes in setting examples through personal roles, adding, “it does not always have to be the case...however, I believe it is helpful for girls of color to see people, women, that look like them and that take a special interest in mentoring them in STEM. It is also important to tell young women that there is absolutely no limit to what they can accomplish, even in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering and computer science.”
This model-mentorship strategy is part of RADM Hinton’s broader focus on outreach: to protect public health, she points out, you have to involve the public. Her administration has demonstrated a vested interest in transparency and programs that integrate multidisciplinary cooperation between agencies, private sector influences, and civilian interest groups as they seek out solutions to our most pressing health challenges.
She summarizes this aim by stating that, “our goal is to advance and engage with FDA’s diverse, multi-disciplinary communities to support new workforce councils, [and to] develop and lay a framework for programs and initiatives that leverage the power of public health science, including scientific workforce diversity as it aligns with our mission.”
Despite having so many personal values which “align with the core values of leadership, service, integrity, and excellence which are the United States Public Health Service’ core values - and which are central to fulfilling the mission of our service,” she says, Miss Hinton never expected to end up in the office she occupies now.
“When I started out as a nurse officer in the USAF in the 1990s, I did not plan to be or dream that one day I would be an Admiral or Chief Scientist,” she explains, but she “always had ambition, initiative and good moral principles overall, and I think that work ethic and those principles worked in my favor.”
With the encouragement of her bevy of supportive friends, mentors, role models, and family members, she was able to see more opportunities than she ever would have imagined on her own. She takes her role very seriously, perhaps because of all that went into the journey that led her to it.
“My cross-cutting leadership role as Rear Admiral and Chief Scientist affords me the opportunity to work with many incredibly smart, dedicated and committed people that work together to achieve a common goal,” she says. “I am honored to have this opportunity and do not take the responsibility lightly or for granted.” Of her own legacy, she added, “I hope to always emulate great character and hope to be remembered as someone that made a difference and truly worked hard to chart a successful course for others.”
There is much to be said for this classically American yet deeply personal set of values and morals. As RADM Hinton pointed out, our future generations look to current leaders as blueprints, roadmaps that guide them in their own goal-setting and behavior.
As the nation continues to face a wide array of new, previously unimaginable challenges, Ms. Hinton’s focus has been a blend of collaborative problem-solving and a deep commitment to protecting the people who rely on her and her team to keep them safe. It is perhaps this emphasis on protection and care that speaks the most deeply to her twenty-eight years of service with the U.S. Air Force and other health-and-safety focused agencies.
Ms. Hinton is regularly engaged in diversity initiatives both within and outside of her role as the FDA’s Chief Scientist (photo courtesy of FDA)
She connects the values these experiences gave her with the current mission of the FDA, which is the shared mission of “protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics and products that emit radiation.”
All of these areas draw on RADM Hinton’s specialized knowledge as both a longstanding healthcare expert as well as her intuitive ability to lead in the realm of STEM and human safety. Added to all of this are an even broader array of roles and responsibilities. According to her official biography statement, RADM Hinton’s responsibilities “encompass interdisciplinary toxicology research, health informatics, technology transfer, scientific training and education, laboratory safety, as well as leadership, coordination, and oversight for FDA’s national and global health security, counterterrorism, and emerging threats portfolios.”
With so much to balance at any given time, it’s nothing less than astounding that she has been able to include her passion for education and advocacy in so many areas of her work and private life. The Fem Word and its partners have explored the unique contributions of women before, but it’s hard to think of a more profound example of how those contributions play out than the life and work of Ms.Hinton.
Her ability to navigate all of these diverse interests goes beyond her experience as a woman, however - her social expectations and lived experiences as a woman of color have also been central to her development. She credits much of this to the mentorship and influence of her mother and father.
“My parents taught my older brother and me early on that we would have to work harder than others to be considered for opportunities and to be noticed for our work ethic and character rather than the color of our skin.”
“My parents taught my older brother and me early on that we would have to work harder than others to be considered for opportunities and to be noticed for our work ethic and character rather than the color of our skin,” she tells us. “Being an African-American woman would add additional pressure as at times, I may be the only African-American executive leader and woman at the table.”
This prediction proved true as she entered the workforce and pursued her future career in human health and safety.
“I followed their advice,” she says, “and over the course of my 28 years in uniformed service, I was fortunate to have leaders, managers, mentors, friends, and colleagues challenge, guide and support me which positively influenced my personal and professional experience in ways no manual can teach.”
Indeed, there are no manuals that can adequately explain what it’s like to be a BIPOC, and a female one at that, in such a thoroughly white, male-dominated field. This is precisely why the perspectives and insight of women like RADM Hinton are so vital to share. Without them, many young women would be “flying blind” as they seek to enter the space and bring their own unique identities to the table.
To these girls and women, Ms.Hinton has a few final words of advice.
“I would tell them to plan to succeed and start with doing their absolute best while pursuing their career in one of the very many STEM fields,” she encourages. “Additionally, they must remember how very important it is to hone their soft skills in addition to the hard skills that they will learn through formal training.”
“Maintain a strong sense of responsibility in all that you do – own the work – be accountable.”
~RADM Denise Hinton
She summarized those skills through the following points:
Always remember to serve others before yourself;
Be kind to others even if they are not kind to or supportive of you;
Everyone, from the lowest ranking position to the highest is important and deserves an opportunity; don’t ignore or neglect them because they will help you achieve your goals and succeed--as you help them along the way;
Maintain a strong sense of responsibility in all that you do – own the work – be accountable;
Take intelligent risks—be confident, not arrogant;
And, challenge yourself to never stop growing, never stop learning, never stop dreaming—and always keep the faith.
When it comes to “keeping the faith” all women share in one another, in their potential, and in our abilities, there are few influences as profound as the sharing of stories like this one. Thanks to RADM Hinton and her team for giving us the opportunity to learn from their work and values, and we can’t wait to see the incredible things they will accomplish in the coming years!
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