Mark Ghaly

Dr. Mark Ghaly is the secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency; he works with partners across sectors and disciplines to improve the lives and life chances of all Californians. This work has been especially urgent during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a primary care pediatrician, Dr. Ghaly uses his clinical and community experiences to inform a whole-person, whole-community approach to integrating services so that they are equity-anchored and person-centered, especially for the most vulnerable Californians. Previously, he was medical director of the Southeast Health Center, a San Francisco public health clinic. In addition to having a large primary care pediatrics practice, he led the clinic’s transition to the patient-centered medical home model of care, expanded specialty care and diagnostics services, and addressed issues such as teen health, youth violence, food security, and environmental health. In 2011, he became the deputy director for Community Health and Integrated Programs for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. In this role, he directed clinical operations in the juvenile detention system and led the transition of jail health services from the Los Angeles County Sheriff and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health into one integrated system of care. He also led a county team to expand health and behavioral health services on the Martin Luther King, Jr., health campus in South Los Angeles, which included the opening of the public-private Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Hospital. He earned his MD and MPH from Harvard University.