Celebrated as a “jewel in her community,” the Florida A&M University School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC) salutes alumna Danielle Lewis Gentry (’05) in recognition of National Minority Health Month.
A proud Rattler, Lewis Gentry is breaking barriers in health communications as the first head of communications for Kroger Health. Her career reflects the impact of SJGC’s training in preparing students to become strategic leaders in media and communications.
Lewis Gentry has dedicated most of her professional life to advancing health and wellness and community resilience through internal and external communications, public affairs, media relations, public relations, and more. At Kroger, she has helped promote health care services across the U.S. through strategic communications and corporate affairs initiatives. Her work includes engaging with the public, nonprofit and business communities, and media to share information about programs centered on nutrition, population health, general wellness, and community care.
She leads national teams and oversees messaging for key initiatives and major projects, including annual health and wellness festivals, conferences, prescription safety education campaigns, and localized health services.
Lewis Gentry credits her time at FAMU SJGC for helping to shape her into the communicator and community advocate she is today.
“FAMU SJGC prepared me to make a significant positive impact in my industry and on the lives of the people I touch,” she said. “My professors instilled confidence in me and taught me how to work in the spirit of excellence, while also encouraging me to seek truth and have the courage to speak that truth to power. They also taught me how to use my voice and skills to bring awareness to issues that specifically impact underserved communities and to lead efforts that are necessary to drive change.”
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Lewis Gentry’s impact has been recognized by several organizations. She is the recipient of the Children’s Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian of the Year Award, a TEDx Cincinnati Extraordinary Woman Award and was named a 2023 Cincinnati Enquirer “Woman of the Year.”
Before joining Kroger Health, she served as vice president and senior manager for public relations at Fifth Third Bank and as a senior media relations associate at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
She also founded the Angel Baby Network in 2015, with the goal of connecting parents, social workers, medical professionals, and licensed psychologists to support families navigating the loss of a child.
Lewis Gentry has served on the boards of StarShine Hospice, which supports families of children with debilitating, terminal, and life-limiting illnesses, and Cradle Cincinnati, which works to reduce infant mortality. She is a member of the Network for Hope’s Donor Family Network, which provides opportunities for organ donor families to connect.
Her commitment to service and health advocacy was evident even during college, with internships at Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
After earning her degree in public relations from FAMU SJGC—where she was recognized as the most outstanding public relations student in her class—she earned an MBA with a concentration in marketing from the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
“The rich curriculum at FAMU SJGC offered me opportunities to explore the many facets of journalism,” she said. “It provided a firm foundation to demonstrate my writing, public speaking and production skills—skills that continue to be evident as I advance in my career. Finally, my peers taught me how to always rise to the occasion, to be the best that I could be and to always lift as I climb.”
