Nelson J. Dunlap

Nelson J. Dunlap, J.D. currently serves as the Vice President for Public Policy & External Affairs in the Institute of Global Health Equity at Meharry Medical College. In this role he helps to lead the health policy initiatives of the Institute, as well as the development of new partnerrelationships, all while keeping health equity centered at the core of the mission. As a dedicated health policy advocate, author, and experienced public speaker, Mr. Dunlap has utilized every opportunity in his career to fight on behalf of marginalized communities and push for the advancement of health equity. Before joining Meharry, Mr. Dunlap served as the Chief-of-Staff for the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine where he helped to lead the government relations and health policy initiatives of the institution. Along with this role, Mr. Dunlap also served as the Senior Advisor for Legislative Affairs for the Health Equity Leadership and Exchange Network. In this position, Mr. Dunlap directed the grassroots efforts of the network as well as oversaw any research or reports published by the network.

Beginning with his selection to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the DePaul Journal of Health CareLaw and coupled with his tenure as an Executive Student Board Member of the Mary andMichael Jaharis Health Law Institute, Mr. Dunlap has long understood and embraced the vital role that academia can play in leading the charge in addressing health disparities. Mr. Dunlap’s passion for shaping the minds of the next generation of learners and leaders, and doing so with an eye towards leveraging the law and the political determinants of health, has afforded him the opportunity to provide numerous speaking engagements and author a number of publications centered around health policy and health disparities.

While Nelson Dunlap is originally from Austin, Texas, he is a recent transplant to the city of Nashville, Tennessee, where he and his wife, a registered nurse, hope to become integral members of the thriving health care community. Mr. Dunlap graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.