Meet the Founder
Hey there, I’m Dr. LeNoir
Physician | Healer | Community Activist | Communicator | Family Man
The Roots Run Deep
“I grew up all over — Cincinnatti, Dallas, St. Louis, and finally NYC.” Dr. LeNoir’s father, Henry LeNoir, dedicated his life to serving the community. Serving as the Executive Director of local YMCAs before settling in Harlem, NY made Mr. LeNoir the familiar. People always recognized him when walking around in the neighborhood, the helpful face that people could always turn to. Maybe that’s where Dr. LeNoir’s commitment to the health and well-being of the African American community stems from. Or maybe he got it from his mom, who, on top of taking care of four sons while supporting her husband, worked as a full-time nurse well into her 60s. Most likely, it was both of them and their desire to make a difference. It’s in his DNA to give back to being a beloved community leader.
A Career That Started in Service
Dr. LeNoir didn’t always start out in pediatrics. After completing his B.S. and M.S. at the University of Texas, Dr. LeNoir completed his residency in the U.S. Army at the Galveston, TX army base. And after a fellowship at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, Dr. LeNoir continued serving in the U.S. Army for 10 years at the Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, CA, becoming the youngest Lieutenant Colonel in the Core and receiving the Army Commendation Medal. With a great service career as the allergy consultant to the 6th Army Area, Dr. LeNoir later returned as a Reserve to Fort Bragg, CA during the Persian Gulf War, to round out his service to our country. And he wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without his late wife and her mother-in-law, who came to live with their family after the girls were born.
Notorious for His Projects – OBONES, NOES, and TOES
Dr. LeNoir is known for his projects. There are no limits. “I just remember childhood always being fun – my dad was always taking these ideas and making all-day projects out of them. My dad would be full of these ideas, these projects. He would take us to the park to fly kites, wrangling us four girls, all under ten, into the car just to end up spending the entire day trying to untangle the kite out of the tree. Well, we got to run around and play,” winked Executive Director and daughter, Monique LeNoir. “I’m notorious for putting projects like the kite that won’t work out like they’re supposed to,” as he waved his hand back at me, focused on his next Dean and Doc show, another one of his many projects. It was during their time at the Presidio that Dr. LeNoir started his lifelong project in radio. There was this guy, he was the bones guy, but he also played the oboe so we called him ‘Obones’,” Dr. LeNoir recalled with a twinkle. “And there was this guy who did the toes, I’m the nose. We called ourselves the “Obones, Nose and Toes!” He chuckled to himself as he talked about one of his earlier radio shows. To Dr. LeNoir, the radio, digital programs, health news breaks and the podcasts are all projects for him — no-big-deal projects that he refers to with a wave of a hand, casually forgetting the hundreds of thousands of millions of people he has already helped.
Beyond a Physician, a Public Servant
He’s just your neighborhood doc, just another world-renowned immunologist, the only pediatrician you and your community trust, the force behind bringing Black health and access to quality care for the past 30 years. And he’s still at it today.
“We haven’t done enough.” Dr. LeNoir, a legacy already himself, the African American Wellness Project is a legacy he has been building. With the launch of the “And Black America” series in June 2022, Dr. LeNoir and the Project has recommitted themselves to providing knowledge, resources, and tangible tools to the African American communities as a way of taking back their health. “Healthcare is a fundamental right.”
