Thelma Gibson
Trustee Emerita & Community Leader
Miami Connection
Gibson broke barriers as a Black nurse in segregated Miami hospitals and public health, becoming the first Black assistant nursing supervisor at Dade County Health Department and advocating for disenfranchised communities through her Health Initiative. She founded the inclusive Women's Chamber of Commerce and Black Investors of Dade to empower women and rebuild Liberty City post-riots. Her roles on boards like NAACP, Coconut Grove Cares, and as interim City Commissioner advanced civil rights, education, and health equity in South Florida.
About
Born in 1926 in Coconut Grove to Bahamian settler descendants, Thelma Gibson graduated from nursing school in 1947 and began her career at Jackson Memorial Hospital, facing segregation but building a three-decade nursing legacy including roles at the Dade County Health Department as the first Black assistant supervisor of nursing in 1964. She married Reverend Theodore Roosevelt Gibson in 1967, promoting civil rights alongside him. Gibson founded Miami-Dade County's first Women's Chamber of Commerce in 1984 and, after the 1980s Liberty City riots, co-launched Black Investors of Dade County to aid rebuilding. In 1997, at age 70, she served as interim Miami City Commissioner. She established the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative and co-founded the Theodore R. and Thelma A. Gibson Charter School. Gibson passed away in February 2026 at age 99, leaving a legacy in health, education, and leadership.