Urologist Dr. Charles S. Modlin, Jr. was born on March 10, 1961 in New Castle, Indiana to Charles Modlin, Sr. and Grace Modlin. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1983 and his M.D. degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois in 1987. Modlin completed his residency with a specialization in urological surgery at New York University in New York, New York in 1993.

In 1993, Modlin became the first African American staff urologist and the first African American kidney surgeon hired at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the next twenty-eight years, in addition to his work as a surgeon and urologist, he served as the clinic’s executive director of minority health. In 2003, Modlin established the Minority Men’s Health Clinic (MMHC) at the Cleveland Clinic, followed by the Minority Men’s Health Fair. Governor Mike DeWine appointed him to the Ohio Governor’s Minority COVID-19 Strike Force in 2020. The following year, Modlin founded the “Dr. Modlin, M.D. Health and Wellness Group,” where he served as chief executive for two years. Since 2023, Modlin has worked as vice president, chief health equity officer, and urologic and kidney transplant surgeon at the MetroHealth System in Cleveland.

During his career, Modlin has served on the American Hospital Association’s Health Equity Advisory Board and as a board member of the American Heart Association since 2022.

Modlin has received numerous honors and awards, including the MLK Greater Cleveland Partnership Community Service Award from the Cleveland Orchestra, in collaboration with the City of Cleveland, in 2007; recognition in The Atlanta Post’s Top 21 Black Doctors in America list in 2011; the Black Professional of the Year Award from the Black Professional Association Charitable Foundation in 2015; the Health Care Hero Award from Crain’s Cleveland Business in 2016; and the Northwestern Medal from his alma mater, Northwestern University, in 2023.

In 2021, Modlin published Yes, You Can Succeed: It Isn’t Difficult to Do It if You Know How to Do It: The Step-by-Step Definitive How-To Roadmap to Achieve Your Success Goals.

Modlin resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Sheryl F. Modlin. They have three daughters and a son.