Reginald Ware, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Most of Reggie Ware‘s career has been spent fighting health disparities for Black Americans by educating, informing and inspiring them to make better decisions about their health and understanding that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to healthcare. Black people’s health needs are different and require a different game plan, one that leverages culture, content, and technology to improve health outcomes.

As CEO of BlackDoctor.org (BDO), Ware and his team produce more culturally relevant health content for Black consumers than anyone else in the country. BDO is the nation’s largest and most trusted health and wellness destination for Black Americans. After 19 years of service, BDO reaches 26 million people per month on its platform, is the most trusted health resource for Black people, and has more Facebook followers than WebMD. BDO also boasts the largest database of Black doctors and most are a part of our free doctor search tool, which allows users to find culturally-sensitive doctors in their area. This unique website is full of more than 10,000 articles and videos.

Ware’s previous media experience includes being the founder and publisher of Heart & Soul, which was the nation’s first national health magazine for Black women. Under Ware’s guidance, Heart & Soul reached over 1 million people per month and was among the largest magazines targeted to Black women.

Ware also oversaw the launch of two television properties for Black Enterprise. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Arizona, which he attended on a football scholarship. He grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and now resides in Chicago.

Contact Reggie at [email protected]

Akinwole “Aki” Garrett, President and Chief Operating Officer

As President and COO, Aki Garrett oversees day-to-day operations, drives business strategy, and leads expansion into high-growth verticals such as podcasting, e-commerce, lifestyle, premium video, and strategic partnerships. He also optimizes core business areas, including editorial, live events, and brand marketing.

Before joining BDO, Aki served as VP, Head of Business Development at REVOLT Media & TV and Founder/GM of the REVOLT Podcast Network. Aki leads all strategy, new business development and mergers and acquisitions for the largest Black-owned media company in the United States. Prior to REVOLT, Aki was the Head of Global Strategic Alliances for the Telecommunications vertical at Lenovo, one of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers. Prior to Lenovo, Aki was the Founder and Managing Director of Accelerate Consulting, a boutique digital media and technology consulting firm that offered a variety of advisory services for strategic growth to companies between series A and series C funding rounds. Prior to Accelerate, Aki spent three years as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Publisher Partnerships at SHE Media (formerly SheKnows Media), where he was a member of the senior management team that took SheKnows through an exit, when it was acquired by Penske Media in March 2018. Aki has held business development management positions at both CBS Local and ABC News, where he was instrumental in creating new strategies and products for both companies including, most notably, ABC News’ video distribution platform and CBS Local’s podcast network – Radio.com (formerly Play.it), which birthed legendary podcasts such as Rap Radar and Drink Champs. Prior to working in the media industry, Aki was a technology, media and telecommunications investment banker at Barclays Investment Bank.

Aki holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a BSBA in Finance & Accounting from The Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a proud member of the Robert Toigo Foundation, where he was recognized as “Top 40 Under 40” in 2015. He sits on the Fuqua Minority Alumni Advisory Board at Duke University, the Board of Trustees of The Shipley School, and is a founding General Partner of Sankofa Family Ventures, a family office committed to investing in Black and Brown VC fund managers. In addition, he is a member of the Investment Committee of Resilient Ventures, a Durham, North Carolina-based venture capital fund. Aki also serves on the advisory board of two Black-owned startups.

Derrick M. Lane, Chief Marketing Officer

As CMO, Derrick Lane believes in “relishing in the beauty of today, while creatively imagining tomorrow’s opportunities.” Mr. Lane has been fascinated by the everyday use of technology from age seven and married both his passions for technology and advertising together as a Senior advertising executive at R.J. Dale Advertising & Public Relations. Upon joining BlackDoctor.org as its Marketing Director, he later became the Chief Content Officer and, ultimately, BDO’s Chief Marketing Officer.

In his current role, Mr. Lane oversees all online and offline marketing efforts, traditional and new media, while forging creative ways to strategically over-deliver on KPIs from BDO’s Fortune 50 advertisers. Mr. Lane also teaches digital marketing to various faith-based and community institutions, creates branded networking events, and sits on boards of several community empowerment organizations.

Mr. Lane received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds multiple online marketing certifications from the Online Marketing Institute based in San Diego, CA.

Contact Derrick at [email protected]

Dr. Ashanti Carter, Chief Academic Liaison

Dr. Ashanti Carter serves as Chief Academic Liaison for BlackDoctor.org, where she leads strategic academic and clinical partnerships that advance the organization’s commitment to health equity. In this role, she works to strengthen BDO’s presence in the clinical trials space by fostering trusted relationships between physicians, research sponsors, and community stakeholders. Her efforts focus on increasing community participation in clinical trials and addressing long standing medical mistrust through transparent, culturally informed engagement.

Dr. Carter brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education, healthcare workforce development, and community-based health initiatives. Prior to joining BDO, she served as Director of Community College Partnerships at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where she built pathway programs that expanded access to healthcare careers for students from under-resourced communities. She previously held the position of Program Director at The Rodham Institute at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, leading efforts to reduce health disparities through education, research, and community engagement.

Dr. Carter also served two terms as Chair of the Industry Advisory Board for Health Sciences for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in Washington, D.C., where she helped shape regional strategies for health workforce development and educational alignment.

She is the founder of HEROES, LLC, a college and career readiness consultancy that supports underrepresented students pursuing higher education and healthcare careers. This work complements BDO’s long-term vision for community engagement and talent development.

Dr. Carter earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development from the University of California, San Diego; a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development, where her dissertation focused on pathway programs into healthcare professions for historically excluded populations.

Lindsey Guenther, Chief Finance & Growth Officer

Lindsey Guenther is the Chief Finance & Growth Officer at BlackDoctor.org. She brings more than 20 years of experience in digital media, the majority of which has been spent in digital health. Over the course of her career, she has worked at the intersection of growth, operations, and strategic finance, helping organizations scale, diversify revenue, and prepare for successful transactions.

Most recently, Lindsey served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, Operations & Strategy at HealthCentral (formerly Remedy Health Media). Over her 15-year tenure, she advanced from leading revenue, advertising, and client operations, along with performance marketing, to overseeing M&A, corporate strategy, operations, investor relations, and finance. In these roles, she was pivotal in driving high-growth initiatives — leading two sell-side and three buy-side transactions, shaping integration strategies, and positioning the company for a successful exit and transition.

Following HealthCentral, Lindsey has advised a range of e-commerce and private-equity backed consumer brands on growth strategy, digital operations, and financial planning. Her work has focused on accelerating top-line growth, strengthening operational discipline, and preparing companies for scale and investment. She currently holds advisory roles with Everviolet, a women’s wellness intimates brand, and GREATERVita, a premium supplement platform.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Lindsey began her career at The Washington Post, where she worked in digital media account management and advertising product and operations.

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she spent time in the Washington, D.C. area and Charlottesville, Virginia before relocating to the Bay Area in late 2018. She lives there with her husband, Drake, and their two daughters. Lindsey is passionate about advancing mission-driven brands in health and wellness, and outside of work, she spends much of her time on a pool deck or in a gymnastics gym supporting her girls.

Stephen O’Brien, Chief Product Officer

Stephen O’Brien is an accomplished product executive in the healthcare technology and education space, currently serving as Chief Product Officer at BlackDoctor.org. He leads strategy, product development, and growth initiatives for the BlackDoctor ecosystems.

Previously, he held leadership positions at Doximity, where he delivered high-growth products such as DocNetwork, and at WebMD/Medscape, building multimedia content, live event operations, and product pipelines. Over his 20+ year career, Stephen is known for scaling new business units, forming strategic partnerships, driving revenue growth, and innovating at the intersection of healthcare, education, and digital media.

Kristin Vaughan, Chief Content Officer

As CCO, Kristin Vaughan helps drive the strategy creation, development, and execution of content across all digital platforms. She oversees a team of editors, content creators, medical contributors, and multimedia producers, working cross-departmentally to expand BDO’s reach, refine its voice, and amplify its impact.

A seasoned editor, writer, and content strategist with more than 20 years in media, print, and digital publishing, Kristin began her career as a newspaper reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post before transitioning to digital media. She went on to focus on women’s lifestyle content, books, and entertainment news at major Black media and health digital media outlets, including ESSENCE, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Everyday Health (EH), where she held senior editorial positions at each. At EH, Kristin oversaw daily editorial website content, newsletters, social media accounts, mobile apps, video, SEO, and third-party sponsorships for several popular subscription websites of health and fitness experts, including Jillian Michaels, Denise Austin, and NBC‘s TODAY nutrition expert Joy Bauer, MS, RDN, to name a few. Throughout her career, Kristin has stayed committed to maintaining the highest level of editorial standards and journalistic integrity while delivering content that speaks to diverse audiences and aims to motivate and inspire them.

Before joining BDO, Kristin founded Kriss Cross Media, a boutique content and brand strategy firm. There, she developed strategic communications plans, (re)launched websites, created thought-leadership pieces, and ghostwrote for executives and celebrities. Her writing has been published in The Boston Globe, Black Enterprise, Ms., The Kansas City Star, and other national publications and websites. She has also contributed to two book anthology series, co-authored a children’s picture book, and is working on a novel. She is a Columbia, Maryland native and a proud graduate of Howard University with a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Contact Kristin at [email protected]