Dr. Jean Accius is an accomplished leader and innovator in health equity, longevity, health systems transformation, and building equitable systems so that every person in every community can live a longer, healthier, and more productive life. As President & CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, Jean leads a high-performing team that is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to health and empowering communities to thrive. With business acumen and deep experience across sectors, Dr. Accius understands how to develop creative and actionable solutions, policies, and programs that uncover the economic advantages of addressing disparities. He has a proven track record of collaborating across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to accelerate the pace of change.
Prior to CHC, Dr. Accius was a member of the policy team for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and spent more than 15 years at AARP, the nation’s largest nonprofit, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of International Affairs and Global Thought Leadership. At AARP, Jean led his team in creating a business case for diversity in the workforce and conducting seminal research on the contributions of the aging population to the global economy.
Dr. Accius has been widely recognized for his transformational leadership—from Next Avenue’s Influencer in Aging Award (2020) to Black Enterprise magazine’s Modern Man of Distinction (2018) to Florida State University’s Distinguished Black Alumni of the Year (2021). He has also been a member of the Fast Company Impact Council since 2021. He is a sought-after author and speaker, and is regularly featured in outlets, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Forbes, TIME Magazine and Politico. He has facilitated sessions at the World Economic Forum in Davos and has engaged hundreds of leaders across industries and sectors at the United Nations. Under his leadership, his previous team’s signature program, Growing with Age, was recognized as part of the Fast Company World Changing Ideas program.
Dr. Accius has long been passionate about equity, the contributions of women to society, and improving the world around him—he was raised from infancy to age four by his grandmother in Haiti. Her hard work and dedication has inspired his career path to this day. Dr. Accius is a certified director with the National Association of Corporate Directors, a fellow with the Executive Leadership Council, a graduate of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Program on Health Reform, and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Corporate Innovation Program. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Florida State University and a Ph.D. from American University School of Public Affairs.
A highly sought after author and speaker, Dr. Accius has been quoted by or appeared in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes, TIME Magazine, USA Today, Reuters, Politico, Next Avenue, ESPN’s Undefeated, Rolling Out, NationSwell, Congressional Quarterly, and Huffington Post. In 2020, he facilitated several sessions at the 50th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and also engaged nearly 300 leaders across industries and sectors, including 20 ambassadors and many delegates, at the United Nations.
Dr. Accius is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and has held a variety of board and advisory positions including Justice in Aging, the American Society on Aging, Leadership Maryland and the American University School of Public Affairs Board of Advisors. Previous Board appointments also include Florida State University Alumni Association, the South Florida Institute on Aging Policy Council and the Editorial Advisory Committee for Generations, the journal for the American Society on Aging. He is an Executive Leadership Council Fellow, member of G100’s Transformational Leadership Network, and holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality administration and a master’s degree in aging studies from the Claude Pepper Institute at Florida State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in public administration from American University. Dr. Accius is a graduate of Leadership Maryland’s Class of 2014, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health program on health reform, and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Corporate Innovation program.