Dean Christopher King Receives the 2025 Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award
(left to right) Christopher J. King, School of Health dean; Jacqueline D. Bowens, president and CEO of DCHA; Greg Argyros, MD, chair, DCHA board of directors and president of MedStar Washington Hospital Center; and Wayne Turnage, deputy mayor for D.C. Health and Human Services
(November 12, 2025) — The District of Columbia Hospital Association (DCHA) has selected Christopher J. King, PhD, MHSc, FACHE, dean of Georgetown’s School of Health, as a recipient of the 2025 Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award.
The award honors and recognizes “those who are making health equity a reality in their community and leveraging engagement to improve health outcomes for those most impacted by health disparities.”
Jacqueline D. Bowens, president and CEO of DCHA, presented King with the award November 6 at the Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award Reception hosted by Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center.
King received the 2025 Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award.
“Dr. King is a visionary leader and tireless champion for health equity — both in his professional work and in his personal mission,” said Bowens. “He is a respected leader, educator, advocate, author and mentor whose influence continues to shape the future of equitable health care. His commitment, intellect and compassion remind us that achieving health equity is not just a professional goal — it’s a moral imperative.”
“I am filled with gratitude,” King said. “It has been such a pleasure to be a partner with DCHA in our shared vision for a just and equitable city. Giving back to the city where I was born and where my grandmother raised eight children is deeply personal.”
King delivered the keynote address at the reception, focusing on health equity.
“As we seek solutions, our success requires reflection, systems-based thinking and shared accountability,” he said. “While we have made progress in improving our health care delivery system in D.C., we still grapple with seemingly intractable, stark health disparities — disparities by ZIP code, race, gender and socio-economic status are examples.”
King added, “The journey towards health equity requires us to redirect our attention to the entire ecosystem, and achieve operational awareness of the biases or injustices that exist within that ecosystem — and furthermore, we must explore how those injustices may interact.”
King delivered the keynote address at the Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award Reception.
King was named inaugural dean of the School of Health when it was formed in 2022 and has led its educational, research and service expansion, guided by the school’s mission “to advance the health and well-being of people — locally, nationally and globally through innovative research, interdisciplinary education and transformative engagement with communities.”
King was instrumental in defining the school’s vision to create “an equitable and just world where all people can achieve optimal health and well-being,” a reflection of his personal values.
“We are cultivating an army of intellectual dreamers who stand in solidarity for a just and equitable world where all people can achieve optimal health and well-being,” he said.
The Vincent C. Gray Health Equity Award honors Gray’s legacy of “being a voice for the voiceless and ensuring that health care is a right and not a privilege.” Gray served on the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 7 from 2017 to 2025 and was mayor of the city from 2011 to 2015.