26Health is a leading, Central Florida family health center, dedicated to providing quality healthcare for families in the community.

VOICES IN HEALTHCARE:
Latrice N. Stewart, MBA, CMPE

President and Chief Executive Officer, 26Health

For Latrice N. Stewart, leadership is not a title. It is a responsibility. As President and Chief Executive Officer of 26Health, Stewart leads a nonprofit healthcare organization focused on delivering inclusive, affirming, and accessible care to underserved communities. Her work straddles strategy, operations, and human connection—ensuring that clinical excellence never eclipses compassion, and that growth never distances the organization from the people it was created to serve.

But Stewart’s approach to leadership is rooted in something deeper than executive function. It is shaped by lived experience, personal memory, and a lifelong understanding of what it feels like to navigate systems that were not built with everyone in mind.

“I carry those stories into every room I enter,” she says—boardrooms, policy discussions, planning sessions alike. For Stewart, numbers and outcomes matter, but never at the expense of humanity. Her leadership insists on both.

Where Leadership Began

That philosophy did not begin with her career. It began with her childhood.

Stewart grew up watching community institutions like churches, neighborhood leaders, and grassroots organizations step in when formal systems failed. Those early experiences taught her that civic leadership is not about prestige, but about presence. It is about showing up, staying engaged, and asking difficult questions when silence would be easier.

Today, Stewart continues that tradition across Central Florida, working alongside elected officials, nonprofit leaders, community partners, and members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Whether she is serving on boards or contributing to regional initiatives, she returns to the same guiding question: How does this create lasting impact for the people most often left out of the conversation?

That question has shaped her entire professional journey.

Healthcare as a Calling

Healthcare, for Stewart, is not just a profession—it is a calling. She entered the field after witnessing what happens when access to care is delayed, denied, or delivered without dignity. Throughout her career, she has led organizations through transformation, expansion, and systems change, always balancing sustainability with mission alignment.

At 26Health, those efforts have translated into expanded services, stronger governance, and diverse, high-performing leadership teams. But Stewart is quick to note that the moments that matter most rarely make it into reports.

They are quieter.

A patient who feels truly seen. A staff member who feels valued. A community that feels heard.

Those are the victories that sustain her.

Latrice N. Stewart leads a nonprofit healthcare organization.

Memory, Responsibility, and Motivation

Stewart describes her motivation as a combination of memory and responsibility. She remembers walking into spaces where belonging was uncertain. She remembers family members navigating healthcare with hesitation—uncertain of cost, uncertain of fairness, uncertain of how they would be treated. And she remembers the mentors, especially her mother, who believed in her long before she fully believed in herself.

Those experiences are not footnotes in her story. They are the foundation of her leadership.

For Stewart, equity is not theoretical. It is personal. It is urgent. And it is necessary.

Impact Within the Black Community

Her work within the Black community of Central Florida reflects that understanding. She leads with awareness of how historical inequities and generational trauma continue to shape how institutions, especially healthcare, are experienced today. Building trust, expanding access, and delivering culturally responsive care are not side projects. They are central to her mission.

Equally important to her is what she calls “representation with purpose.” Stewart is deeply committed to mentoring emerging Black leaders, supporting Black-led organizations, and advocating for policies that address disparities at their roots. Visibility matters, she believes—but only when it is paired with accountability, action, and measurable change.

A Vision for the Future

When asked what changes she hopes to see in the future, Stewart does not hesitate.

She wants equity embedded into systems—not treated as a temporary initiative or a performative gesture. She envisions a future where community voices shape solutions, where healthcare prioritizes prevention and dignity, and where leadership tables reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

“Sustainable change,” she says, “requires both bold vision and consistent follow-through.”

Defining a Legacy

That same clarity shapes how she thinks about legacy.

Stewart does not measure success by accolades. She measures it by endurance. By institutions that continue to thrive long after her tenure. By systems that function more justly because she challenged them. By people who felt seen, supported, and empowered because of her presence.

If her work strengthens a system, inspires a future leader, or helps someone walk forward with greater confidence, she considers that legacy well-earned.

“We lift ourselves,” she says, “by lifting each other.”

Inspiring the Next Generation

That belief informs her commitment to younger generations. Stewart sees inspiration not as a speech, but as an ecosystem—one built on representation, access, mentorship, and real pathways to leadership. When young people can see themselves reflected in power and are given tools to succeed, belief becomes momentum.

For older Central Floridians, Stewart emphasizes dignity. Access to healthcare, housing stability, and social connection are essential—but so is respect. Our elders, she believes, carry wisdom and history that deserve both protection and celebration. Intergenerational engagement is not optional; it is vital.

A Collective Responsibility

When asked what every Central Florida resident can do to strengthen the community, Stewart’s answer is simple: stay engaged, stay informed, and stay compassionate.

Support local organizations. Advocate for equity. Understand that progress is collective.

“We lift ourselves,” she says, “by lifting each other.”

In a time when leadership is often defined by volume, Stewart’s power comes from intention. From the way she listens. From the way she remembers. From the way she refuses to separate systems from the people they impact.

Her work reminds us that the most transformative leaders are not those who dominate the room—but those who change it.