Ray Howard is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He relocated to San Antonio, Texas in 2007 following a distinguished affiliation as Program Director and Senior Researcher with the Center for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburghâs Graduate School of Public Health. He is recent retiree from the Texas Educational System. Prior to his retirement, he served as Executive Director of Continuous Quality Improvement and Curriculum Management for the School of Medicine at University of Texas Rio Gande Valley (UTRGV), preceded by several years as Senior Educational Development and Program Evaluation Specialist for University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, an undergraduate professor of public health, organizational leadership and U.S. health care systems at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has served on several local, state, and national boards and committees throughout his career to develop or improve social and human services and health education programs targeted to vulnerable populations. His academic focus is minority health, economic and social disparities. Since his retirement, he has devoted considerable participation in civic engagement and social justice efforts, and actively pursues collaborative opportunities to increase the awareness and preservation of African American and Afro-Mexican History and Culture in the Texas Rio Grande Valley.