Naomi Cottoms

Naomi Cottoms is the Executive Director for Tri County Rural Health Network, a not for profit organization working to improve access to healthcare.

Born and raised in the heart of the Delta Region of Arkansas, she has a master of arts degree in human resource development from Webster University and a bachelor of arts degree in social work from Philander Smith College. She is trained by the Kettering Foundation in Dayton, Ohio and is an avid believer and practitioner of community engagement, which she utilizes in every aspect of her work.

She is the immediate Past President, and one of the founders of the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association. Naomi is also one of the founders of and currently serves on the board for the National Association of Community Health Workers. She serves on a National Research Project “Project Achieve” lead by the University of Kentucky, around transitioning healthcare. She has served as the Director of the Upward Bound Program at Philander Smith College and later as the Dean for the Division of Student Affairs.

In addition, she has been a member of the National Institutes for Health’s (NIH) Council of Public Representatives and is a member of the Community Advisory Board for the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences’ Clinical and Translational Research Center.

Naomi Cottoms is co-author of six published articles around research involving community as partners. She was one of ten people in the U.S. to receive the Robert Wood Johnson’s National Community Health Leader Award in the year 2011. She has also received the Arkansas Minority Health Commission’s Dr. Joycelyn Elders Pioneer Award; both awards were for outstanding and innovative efforts in health. She is proud to be a community health worker.