It’s been 31 years since Tanya Blackmon graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelors in social work and all the things that made her want to attend the university are the things that have prepared her for the journey that has been her career in healthcare.

“What I found is that the professors at A&T really cared about you as a person and about your success in society,” Blackmon said.

“They believed coming from a predominately black college, you have to be better. They believed in being knowledgeable and being right.”

Blackmon, the president of Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, was recently named one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine, a publication focusing on health-care business and policy news, research and information. This is only her most recent honor. In the past, Blackmon has been named one of the Top 25 Business Women in Charlotte and the Class of 40 Under 40 Up and Coming Business Leaders, both by the Charlotte Business Journal; one of 50 Most Influential Women in Charlotte by The Charlotte Post. She’s also been a recipient of the professional advancement award and a hall of fame inductee, both honors from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club.

“It’s been a journey,” Blackmon said of her career and accomplishments.
Blackmon credits her former professors at N.C. A&T, Jim Johnson, Dr. Sarah Kirk, Dr. Bob Davis and Ruthena Smith for giving her a strong foundation to prepare her for graduate school and eventually her current position.

“They wanted to make sure we were prepared, we were a reflection on them and the university if we didn’t do well,” Blackmon said.

“I felt extremely prepared when I left A&T. It gave me a strong foundation and made sure I was knowledgeable to be an excellent social worker.”
Blackmon also earned a master’s in social work from the University of South Carolina and a master of business administration from Queens College.

“The social work degree is based on systems theory and it relates to how people react in their environment. I work with people every day and see how they react in this environment as a patient, employee, physician,” she said.

“As an administrator you have to understand how all these parts make your healthcare system functional or dysfunctional. I got my masters in social work shortly after I graduated from A&T and my MBA in 2000. They are a great combination to be an administrator.”

Blackmon has been with Novant Health, the owner of Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, for 20 years. She has been at her current post since 2009. In this position, she leads the overall operations of the hospital with an operating budget of $285 million and more than 600 employees.

The operations include a 60-bed multi-specialty hospital, a free-standing Ambulatory Surgery Center and an Endoscopy Center. She is leading a $20 million expansion of the hospital set to open in the fourth quarter of this year. Blackmon also helped open the $4.7 million endovascular suite and the $6.4 million Same-Day Surgery Center.

“I’ve been able to bring a strong contribution to the hospital – excelling in quality is important to the company,” she said.

In addition to A&T, she credits her parents, family and faith for all her success thus far. Her mother was a teacher while her father was a drill instructor in the United States Marine Corps. While A&T prepared her for her career, her parents’ love and wisdom prepared her for life.

“Along my journey, every job I’ve attempted to get or interviewed for, I’ve prayed about it. My mother used to say, when you make one step, God makes two. So if you do everything in your power and you don’t get it, it wasn’t meant for you or it’s just not time,” Blackmon said.

She has two children, a son, Austin, an A&T graduate, and a daughter, Aspen, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“You have to remember what’s important in life – my children keep me grounded. You have to surround yourself with people who are encouraging and be true to yourself,” Blackmon said.

That is also the reason Blackmon says it’s important to be a mentor.
“Another one of the things my mother taught me is that if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will. Find a mentor and surround yourself with people who are going to be honest with you who love you enough to tell you when you’re doing well and who will give you honest feedback about things you could have done differently,” she said.

“I believe leadership is my mission. I really take a lot of time and pride in helping add value to the lives of others, that’s why I take time to mentor other professionals.”