Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, was appointed Secretary of Health for the Great State of Washington by Governor Jay Inslee in December 2020. He is the first Asian-American physician and first South Asian to serve in this leadership role in the history of the state of Washington.
His appointment came at a difficult time with the winter wave of COVID-19 and arrival of vaccines into the state. In assuming this leadership role at Washington State Department of Health, Dr. Shah made the transition from fighting on the front lines of response as Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health (HCPH) – the nationally respected public health agency for the nation’s third largest community with nearly five million residents.
Dr. Shah earned his BA (philosophy) from Vanderbilt University; his MD from the University of Toledo Health Science Center; and completed an Internal Medicine Residency, Primary Care/General Medicine Fellowship, and MPH (management), at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He also completed an international health policy internship at World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland.
Upon completing training, Dr. Shah began a distinguished career as an emergency department physician at Houston’s Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center, where he provided clinical care for over two decades. He started his formal public health journey in 2003 as Chief Medical Officer at Galveston County’s Health District before joining HCPH. Under his leadership, HCPH won numerous national awards, including recognition as Local Health Department of the Year in 2016.
Dr. Shah has held numerous leadership positions with respected entities like the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Trust for America’s Health; Network for Public Health Law; Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute; and the National Association of County and City Health Officials, where he served as president, proudly representing nearly 3,000 local health departments nationwide.
Over his career, Dr. Shah has been a clinician, innovator, educator, and leader in the field of health. He has been a champion of underserved communities, the intersection of health and healthcare, and charting a new course in health centering on cornerstone values of equity, innovation, and engagement.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-236-4030
doh.secretary@doh.wa.gov
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The Chief Science Officer is the Department of Health’s primary science expert and a key spokesperson on public health issues.
With broad experience in public health, primary care and global health, Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, MD, MPH, combines decades of leadership and research with deep understanding of families and communities to inform policies that protect and improve health for all people in Washington.
Dr. Kwan-Gett has long focused on bringing together people, systems, and ideas—building collaborative relationships with state and local public health leaders in rural and urban regions on both sides of the Cascades. Previously he practiced pediatrics at Virginia Mason for over 12 years with an emphasis on behavioral health; led a team responsible for communicable disease prevention and control as medical epidemiologist for Public Health – Seattle & King County; directed the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice; trained health professionals in cross-sector collaboration and health equity at the Northwest Public Health-Primary Care Leadership Institute; taught at the University of Washington School of Public Health; and volunteered with refugee and immigrant communities locally and internationally.
Dr. Kwan-Gett earned his bachelor and medical degrees at Harvard, completed his pediatric residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and earned his MPH at the University of Washington as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. A three-time recipient of Seattle Magazine’s “Best Doctors” honor, Dr. Kwan-Gett has co-authored an infectious disease handbook for primary care and published more than two dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from antibiotic resistance to healthcare transformation. Dr. Kwan-Gett is a Clinical Professor of Health Systems and Population Health at UW.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
206-418-5510
TaoSheng.Kwan-Gett@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Staff/Chief Operating Officer is responsible for planning and directing all operational activities for the department as well as providing oversight and guidance for projects of high importance.
Ms. Todorovich serves as the Chief of Staff/Chief Operating Officer for the Washington State Department of Health. She is responsible for the daily operations of the agency. She has been with the agency since 2012 serving as the HR Director and Deputy Secretary for Administrative Operations and has worked for the state of Washington for 18 years.
She received the Governor’s Leadership Award in 2010 for her work in the field of labor relations. She has her bachelor’s degree in Politics from Whitman College and her Masters of Science in Human Resources from Chapman University in California.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-236-4030
Jessica.Todorovich@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Innovation leads the Office of Innovation and Technology and is responsible for coordinating and leading the department’s innovation, technology, data and informatics strategies.
Mr. Becker joined the Department of Health in June 2021 as the new Chief of Innovation, leading the agency’s first-ever Office of Innovation and Technology. He is responsible for building and supporting innovation work across the agency, including overseeing our existing data/informatics and health technology services areas.
He previously provided Public Service Leadership in Harris County, Texas, and advanced an array of innovation, data systems, and technology work, including the nationally acclaimed Public Health Innovation Lab. He has also provided strategic consultation on the delivery and implementation of IT and data strategy services in Texas. Les has 18+ years of Public Service leadership and holds a B.A. in Management and MBA with a concentration in Finance from LeTourneau University.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
253-281-3925
Les.Becker@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
Ms. Fehrenbach served as Deputy Secretary of Health for COVID-19 response from June 2020 through January 2022. Prior to the pandemic, she served as Assistant Secretary of the Prevention and Community Health division. Before coming to Washington state, she worked on national and state public health policy at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Lacy has more than 15 years of public health management and leadership experience and has worked on a variety of issues including health system reform, child and family health, infectious disease, chronic disease, and public health workforce. She holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from Texas A&M University, MPH from the George Washington University and is certified in public health.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
secretary@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Partnerships leads the office responsible for coordinating and leading the department’s external relationships and partnership strategies, particularly with the private and academic sectors.
Mr. Holiday came to Washington in early 2021 to help lead DOH’s operational planning as part of the COVID-19 response before serving as Strategic Initiatives Director. In that role, Kris worked to connect agency strategic priorities to ongoing partnership work. A native of Houston, Kris graduated with a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. For several years he spearheaded complex projects at large healthcare and governmental organizations, including in global public health non-governmental organizations in several countries. He returned home to serve as Vice-President of Business Development for a start-up, then led several successful business ventures before returning to his healthcare roots.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-239-6395
Kristopher.Holiday@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Public Affairs and Equity leads the agency’s communications; health promotion and education; and community relations and equity functions.
Elizabeth Perez joined the Department of Health in March 2021 from serving five years as Director of the Harris County Public Health Office of Communications, Education, and Engagement. Ms. Perez was a Public Health and Communication Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Obama Administration where she managed the public engagement platform for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Office of Minority Health. Prior to working at HHS, she worked at the National Coalition of Health Care, a think tank for Affordable Care Act advocacy.
Ms. Perez came into the public health arena after a decade working in southern California’s healthcare sector on quality improvement in patient care and health policy. Originally from California, she received her Bachelor’s in Radiation Sciences, with an emphasis in health administration and research, and a Master’s in Public Health in Health Policy and Leadership from Loma Linda University.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-790-9326
Elizabeth.Perez@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Policy leads and oversees a team focused on policy development, implementation, and evaluation.
Ms. Peterson has experience leading government relations and policy work with a career focused on health care law and policy. She has worked for elected officials at the state and federal level, for a health care focused trade association, and for a boutique law firm focused on health care clients. She thrives on building collaborative relationships and emphasizes partner engagement as a critical component to identifying challenges and solutions that promote optimal health for all.
She graduated from the Evergreen State College and the University of Washington School of Law.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-236-4030
Kristin.Peterson@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
The Chief of Resilience provides statewide leadership for the ongoing development of public health and medical emergency response capabilities and community resilience and leads emergency response teams.
Mr. Weed holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Additionally, he is a certified Incident Command and Crisis Leadership trainer and a graduate of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and the Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
Throughout his career, he worked in local, state, and federal public health roles leading emergency response teams in many emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic, the H1N1 pandemic, wildland fires, mass casualty incidents, environmental health events, West Nile Virus and St. Louis encephalitis outbreaks, foodborne and waterborne illness outbreaks, and multiple Gulf Coastal hurricanes including Hurricanes Katrina and Maria.
Washington State Department of Health
P.O. Box 47890
Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
360-480-0308
Nathan.Weed@doh.wa.gov
For media inquiries, contact the media relations team.
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