THE DRIVEN LEADER 

Drema Mace Hill 

Vice President for Community Engagement and Development, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine 

Superpower: Intuition 

Drema Mace Hill, vice president for community engagement and development for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, has her dream job. “I lead a team of health professionals that provide outreach, education, and community-engaged research projects statewide through innovative programs and collaborative partnerships,” she says. 

Her journey hasn’t been an easy one. She became an unwed mother as a teen but found a job with the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health when her daughter was only 6 months old. It was here that she realized she was called to create programs and implement change for the better. 

At the age of 25, Hill was working as a case manager when she was involved in a vehicle crash that required the jaws of life to extract her. Having lost part of her foot, among other injuries, she worked out of a wheelchair for several years, but never gave up. She was walking again a few years later. 

In spite of the factors working against her, Hill was determined to further her education. She would earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Virginia State University, a master’s degree from Cumberland University, and a doctoral degree from Capella University  with a Vanderbilt University IRB, overcoming medical challenges along the way. After a 14-year stint in Tennessee as CEO of Vanderbilt’s Comprehensive Care Center, she returned to West Virginia to fight for and inspire others in her home state. 

It’s not surprising that many use the word “driven” to describe Hill. “When I find myself in a situation, it doesn’t take me long to make a decision and move on,” she says. Her list of awards and involvement is lengthy. She works from the local to the international level, dedicating her time to public health organizations and work groups that seek to promote the equality, inclusion, and representation of all people across West Virginia and beyond. Hill’s passion lies particularly in empowering young women—especially those in poverty—to make a plan and seek more for themselves, motivated by the foundational change she experienced as a young mother. Her daughter is one such woman impacted by Hill’s story, educated, thriving, and breaking the cycle of poverty. “That’s the hope I give young ladies,” Hill says.

WRITTEN BY JULIE PERINE

This profile corrects inaccuracies in our Fall 2024 print edition.

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Since 2014 WV Living magazine has been honoring West Virginia Wonder Women, amazing women who are raising the bar in their communities, serving as beacons of light in their industries, and forcing change for the greater good. WV Living is proud to celebrate these Appalachian mothers, millennials, and mavens proving that in a time full of uncertainty, divisiveness, and hate, love for one another is all we really need. No need for bulletproof bracelets or a golden lasso of truth—these women are creating a better West Virginia with their can-do attitudes and Mountain State spirit.