Joenell Henry-Tanner is the Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President - Governance and Strategic Initiatives for the American Lung Association and serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Immediately prior to joining American Lung Association, Henry-Tanner served as Chief Racial Equity Officer for Heartland Alliance and Chief of Staff for Heartland Human Care Services. While Chief of Staff, she held concurrent roles as interim Chief Operating Officer, Pandemic Public Health Co-Chair and Anti-Racism Response Council Chair. In these positions, Joenell was responsible for strategic planning, fund development, data strategy, project management, internal communications, and staff and board engagement.
Henry-Tanner has served as Executive Director for Chicago Asthma Consortium and Hillside Health Care International. Prior to these roles, she worked with American Cancer Society for over 10 years as Managing Director and Vice President where she spearheaded efforts to reduce cancer disparities within underserved communities, strengthen financial and staffing capacity to support health equity efforts, create and implement culturally-relevant prevention programs and diversify the board and volunteer base.
As a native New Orleanian, Henry-Tanner's background also includes 13 years of experience within hospital and public health systems in Louisiana. Her portfolio included directing the medical staff department for Charity and University hospitals, and implementing a statewide tobacco cessation and navigation program within Louisiana's public hospital system.
Henry-Tanner has an undergraduate degree from Loyola University New Orleans and a Master of Public Health degree from Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. She resides in Illinois with her husband, Lloyd, and she is mother to one daughter, Christann, and two cat-children, Ninja and Franklin.
