Macy Ferguson-Smith of QMG Announced as New Obama Foundation United States Leader

QUIN­CY, IL –– Today, Quin­cy Med­ical Group announced that Behav­ioral Health Ther­a­pist Macy Fer­gu­son-Smith, MSW, LCSW, is among the first cohort of 100 emerg­ing change­mak­ers select­ed to par­tic­i­pate in the Oba­ma Foundation’s Lead­ers USA pro­gram. The Oba­ma Lead­ers pro­gram is a six-month vir­tu­al pro­gram that sup­ports and con­nects emerg­ing lead­ers in the Unit­ed States, Africa, Asia-Pacif­ic, and Europe through a val­ues-based lead­er­ship frame­work inspired by the ideals and lega­cy of Pres­i­dent and Mrs. Oba­ma. Cho­sen from a high­ly com­pet­i­tive pool of appli­ca­tions. Fer­gu­son-Smith was select­ed to join the pro­gram for their health equi­ty advo­ca­cy work and is ready to build their skills and expand their impact across pub­lic, pri­vate, and non­prof­it sectors.

The inau­gur­al cohort of Unit­ed States ​“Oba­ma Lead­ers” is com­posed of val­ues-dri­ven change­mak­ers from every cor­ner of the coun­try. Hail­ing from 37 states; Wash­ing­ton, D.C.; Amer­i­can Samoa; Guam; and five trib­al nations, these Oba­ma Lead­ers are unit­ed by their pas­sion for build­ing a stronger, more sus­tain­able, and more inclu­sive world.

“It is a priv­i­lege and an hon­or to be select­ed as part of the Oba­ma Foundation’s Lead­ers USA pro­gram,” said Fer­gu­son-Smith. ​“I look for­ward to build­ing com­mu­ni­ty with 99 oth­er change-mak­ing young lead­ers who believe in their com­mu­ni­ties and are mak­ing an impact. It is my intent to soak up the expe­ri­ence of the Lead­ers USA pro­gram and bring its teach­ings around val­ues-based lead­er­ship back to the Quin­cy area to cre­ate pos­i­tive and last­ing change.”

Fer­gu­son-Smith, who chaired the City of Quincy’s Human Rights Com­mis­sion from 2018 – 2022, is also a mem­ber of the Quin­cy Med­ical Foun­da­tion Board, and helps lead QMG’s Diver­si­ty, Equi­ty, and Inclu­sion (DEI) jour­ney as the Senior Advi­sor for DEI and Health Equi­ty. As part of the team lead­ing QMG’s role in the Quin­cy ARISE Coali­tion, Fer­gu­son-Smith recent­ly co-facil­i­tat­ed a com­mu­ni­ty DEI event that gath­ered more than 100 lead­ers from local com­mu­ni­ty part­ner orga­ni­za­tions in gov­ern­ment, health­care, busi­ness, indus­try, and more. Fer­gu­son-Smith is also vice pres­i­dent of Jack­son-Lin­coln Pool, a Quin­cy Pub­lic School Dis­trict Men­tor, a Safe & Liv­able Hous­ing Com­mit­tee mem­ber, and a mem­ber of the World Pro­fes­sion­al Asso­ci­a­tion for Trans­gen­der Health (WPATH). They were also named a mem­ber of The Quin­cy Her­ald Whig’s 20 Under 40 class in 2022.

“Macy’s impact as change­mak­er with Quin­cy Med­ical Group and in our com­mu­ni­ty is pro­found,” said Car­ol Brock­miller, Quin­cy Med­ical Group CEO. ​“Their steady and ded­i­cat­ed approach in lead­ing QMG and our Quin­cy com­mu­ni­ty in human rights, social jus­tice, and in our DEI jour­ney is inclu­sive and effec­tive. So many QMG employ­ees and com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers are doing the work and learn­ing from Macy’s pas­sion, knowl­edge, ideas, and work. Their selec­tion for the Oba­ma Lead­ers USA Pro­gram is a well-deserved hon­or and I know Macy will con­tribute as much as they receive dur­ing the pro­gram. Based upon Macy’s fam­i­ly lega­cy of strong advo­cates I am con­fi­dent they will con­tin­ue to have a bright future as a leader for Quin­cy, and I see great things ahead.”

Valerie Jar­rett, CEO of the Oba­ma Foun­da­tion, shared, ​“We are excit­ed to wel­come these 100 change­mak­ers from across the Unit­ed States into the Oba­ma Foun­da­tion fam­i­ly. Our newest Oba­ma Lead­ers are already mak­ing a dif­fer­ence in their com­mu­ni­ties and are ready to take their work to the next lev­el. They embody the val­ues of Pres­i­dent and Mrs. Oba­ma, and their impact­ful work will cre­ate pos­i­tive change in com­mu­ni­ties across the country.”

The Lead­ers USA pro­gram offers par­tic­i­pants a unique and com­pre­hen­sive expe­ri­ence, includ­ing a val­ues-dri­ven lead­er­ship cur­ricu­lum, action labs focused on strength­en­ing demo­c­ra­t­ic insti­tu­tions and cul­ture in the U.S., com­mu­ni­ty groups for fos­ter­ing con­struc­tive dia­logue in a polar­ized envi­ron­ment, and one-on-one sup­port to help tack­le some of the most press­ing issues of our time. As part of the six-month pro­gram, Fer­gu­son-Smith will con­vene vir­tu­al­ly each week with the Unit­ed States Oba­ma Lead­ers cohort for inter­ac­tive ses­sions designed to help them dri­ve change by hon­ing their lead­er­ship skills, build­ing deep rela­tion­ships with their peers, and engag­ing with thought lead­ers and mem­bers of the Oba­ma Foun­da­tion com­mu­ni­ty. Fer­gu­son-Smith will also have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to engage with Pres­i­dent Oba­ma, par­tic­i­pate in var­i­ous vir­tu­al expe­ri­ences and spe­cial events, includ­ing one-on-one con­ver­sa­tions with expe­ri­enced men­tors in the Foundation’s glob­al network.

For more infor­ma­tion about the Oba­ma Foun­da­tion Lead­ers USA pro­gram, vis­it https://​www​.oba​ma​.org/​p​r​o​g​r​a​m​s​/​l​e​aders/. Vis­it QMG Behav­ioral Health at https://​quin​cymed​group​.com/​m​e​d​i​c​a​l​-​s​e​r​v​i​c​e​s​/​b​e​h​a​v​i​o​r​a​l​-​h​e​alth/.