Author, Business Coach, Orator, Motivational Speaker and Public Health Professional, Dr. Wilson J. Washington, Jr. was born in Vaughan, Mississippi on September 2, 1960. He is the 9th of 12 children of Wilson Washington, Sr. (Deceased) and Dorothy Washington of Vaughan Mississippi; a graduate of Benton High School, Benton, Mississippi with honors. He was President of the Class of 1978 at Benton High School; voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” Washington is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). He also earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, and an Associate of Science (AS) from the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, South Carolina. After earning a Master of Science (MS) Degree from the Naval Post Graduate School and serving 24 years of honorable service in the United States Marine Corps Reserves and United States Navy, Medical Services Corps, Washington retired and went on to earn his Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health (PhD) with honors from Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dr. Washington has served in numerous leadership positions during his career; most notably Director of Resource Allocation (Code 61), Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C; Fiscal Officer, Naval Medical Clinic, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia; Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration (DFA), Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), Forest Glen, Maryland; Officer-in-Charge, Naval Hospital Medical Clinic, Naval Air Station, Meridian, Mississippi; Assistant Director of Institutional Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi; Vice President, Behavioral Healthcare Center, Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI); Chief Executive Officer, Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA), Richmond, Virginia; Senior Public Health Advisor, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Rockville, Maryland; currently serves as the Director of Health and Human Services (HHS), City of Atlantic City, New Jersey. As the Director and Public Health Doctor, Dr. Washington is responsible to the Mayor of Atlantic City and Business Administrator for the overall health and safety of over 43,000 residents and roughly 100 million visitors per year to the resort and casinos.
Dr. Washington is also a subject matter expert in Public Health and Viral Hepatitis C; a published author of several books, “Parity in Mental Illness;” Black October The Missing Moment, A Manifestation of Generational Change; HIV Testing in Persons 55 and Older in the State of California; Poverty, Demographics, and Hepatitis C Infection in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Dr. Washington has five children (LaPorshia, Wilson III, Gregorie, Chelsey and Kira) and seven grandchildren. He currently lives in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
