by Mitti Hicks

September 12, 2025

Dr. Chris Pernell was the chief integration and health equity officer at University Hospital in Newark, the state’s only public acute-care facility.

The first diversity officer at a New Jersey hospital is suing her former employer over allegations of discrimination. 

Dr. Chris Pernell, the former chief Integration and health equity officer at University Hospital in Newark, the state’s only public acute-care facility, claims she was illegally forced to leave in 2022.

According to NJ.com, Pernell, in the lawsuit, said she was subjected to sexist and racial discrimination and harassment. She alleges that she worked in a hostile environment and was the target of a “frivolous scam investigation” after vying for the stop spot at the hospital when it became open.

She also lists the State Ethics Commission as a defendant.

Pernell Says She Was Criticized For Diversity Efforts

Pernell served as chief diversity officer in one of the largest providers of care in the state for uninsured patients. NJ.com said the hospital is a 519-bed facility.

Pernell said she was criticized for her diversity efforts and found herself being scrutinized more than other senior staff. In an interview shortly after her departure, she said hostility toward her began shortly after her arrival while she was working to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives.

“I felt like I had to validate the role I was in,” she said.

In the lawsuit, Pernell said she was often asked to “quell the concerns of the Black workers.” In one incident, she stated that she was asked to participate in the hospital’s response after someone wrote “WLM” (White Lives Matter) in a common work area.

Instead of firing that employee, Pernell said the hospital reassigned him over her objections.

She said things took a turn after she expressed interest in the CEO position that opened up following Shereef Elnahal’s departure to work under the Biden administration.

Pernell claimed that even after over 100 leaders had written an open letter to the governor and hospital board of directors in support of her as CEO, she was told the governor’s office would not support her candidacy, and was “not going to be strong-armed” into offering her the position.

Pernell is currently the director of the Center for Health Equity at the NAACP.

In her lawsuit, Pernell is seeking reinstatement, back pay, benefits, compensatory damages, and legal fees. She also wants the hospital to “take appropriate corrective action to stop and prevent retaliation at the workplace.”

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