Carilion Clinic to form diversity, equity, inclusion office

Nathaniel L. Bishop to serve as chief officer

Published February 8, 2021 by Sydney Lake

Nathaniel L. Bishop. Photo courtesy Carilion Clinic

Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic announced Monday it will establish an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and has named Nathaniel L. Bishop, the former Jefferson College of Health Sciences president, to lead it.

The office will work with community leaders to address equity and social justice as it relates to health care in the Roanoke region and Carilion Clinic. Bishop, the system’s first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and senior vice president, will work to expand Carilion’s community and public health efforts.

“NL’s cultural competence and his approach to honoring each individual’s unique abilities and contributions make him the perfect person to take on this dynamic new role,” Carilion President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee said in a statement. “He’ll bring the same courage, commitment and compassion to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that he has brought time and time again over the years.”

Bishop served as president of Carilion’s Jefferson College of Health Sciences from 2010 through 2019, when it integrated with Radford University. He then served as senior vice president of administration at Carilion and senior associate dean for diversity, inclusion and student vitality at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

He started his career in law enforcement, serving as the first Black member of the Christiansburg Police Department. He also previously worked as a detective, a licensed long-term care administrator, executive director of Burrell Nursing Center and as vice president and administrator of Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital.