Whitney Young grew up in Costa Rica, where her parents served as missionaries and where she developed an early appreciation for diverse cultures and a lifelong commitment to serving others. Whitney earned her Master of Public Health at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and holds a Bachelor of Science from East Tennessee State University. Clinically, Whitney maintains an active NC Paramedic credential. She has professional experience spanning K-12 education, nonprofit leadership, and emergency medical services.

Since joining Durham Technical Community College in 2020 as Director of the Community Health Lab, Whitney has led innovative mobile health initiatives designed to improve access to care while creating meaningful experiential learning opportunities for students. She is passionate about integrating learners from a variety of disciplines into community-based healthcare settings, recognizing the transformative impact these experiences have on both students and the communities they serve.

Whitney is a dedicated advocate for populations that face barriers to healthcare access, including uninsured and underinsured individuals, immigrant and refugee communities, children, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people from low-income backgrounds. Her work focuses on connecting communities to preventive, primary, vision, dental, and mental healthcare services while addressing social determinants of health that contribute to inequities in care. Guided by a belief in whole-person care, she is committed to building partnerships and programs that bridge gaps in services and improve health outcomes for underserved populations.