Virginia Union University proudly announces that Rev. Sharon Arline Bradley, MPH, MDiv, will serve as the Baccalaureate Speaker for the Class of 2025. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 9, at 6 PM in the historic Allix B. James Chapel.
Rev. Arline Bradley currently serves as President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a storied organization dedicated to the empowerment and advancement of Black women, families, and communities. With over two decades of impactful leadership in healthcare, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and public service, she stands as a beacon of integrity, wisdom, and transformational change.
In addition to her leadership at NCNW, she is the founding principal of R.E.A.C.H. Beyond Solutions, a mission-driven firm committed to advancing public health, advocacy, and leadership development across the nation.
An ordained minister, Rev. Arline Bradley’s call to ministry is matched only by her unwavering commitment to justice. Her voice has echoed through the halls of influence—from the Obama Administration, where she served as a senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, to grassroots movements that center the lived experiences of marginalized communities.
She has brought her dynamic leadership to esteemed organizations such as the NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and as a national voice in the OWN Your Health campaign, launched by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Her work bridges the sacred and the civic, the pulpit and policy, always with a heart for people and a passion for progress.