LaDawna Walker-Dean

LaDawna Eve Walker-Dean is a lifelong resident of Huntington. After graduating from Huntington High School, she attended Marshall University and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She also obtained a master’s degree in Social Work at West Virginia University. She would go on to counsel numerous families throughout the Tri-State, earning her a certificate for being an outstanding social worker.

Currently, Walker-Dean is the program director of the West Virginia Minority Health Initiative (formerly the West Virginia Office of Minority Health). She has held various positions which include Minority Health Program Coordinator-Marshall University/ State of West Virginia; Service Coordinator-Autism Services Center; Clinician/Therapist-KVC Behavioral Healthcare; Program Director-Neighborhood Network-Huntington Housing/J.W. Scott Community Center.

Walker-Dean serves on several academic boards, state advisory boards, state task forces and committees throughout West Virginia. She has searched for and been awarded $1 million in grants that focus on minority and underserved populations in Cabell County and West Virginia.

She was instrumental in developing statewide strategic plans for tobacco prevention and diabetes in West Virginia. She is a part of West Virginia HEAT (Health Equity Action Team) and is associated with WV ABLE, the West Virginia Collegiate Strategic Framework Plan and the Black History Month Poster Campaign.

Walker-Dean was selected in 2021 for the Marshall University Staff Diversity Award. She has developed and conducted state and national conferences related to health disparities among racial/ethnic populations; diversity and inclusion in the workplace; climate change; and health and equity among minority and vulnerable populations.

She is a member of Full Gospel Assembly Church and its Women’s and Children’s Ministry and is a newly-initiated member of the Huntington Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.