Joneigh S. Khaldun
M.P.H. ’13
State Government Health Executive, Physician
Monumental Achievement: A nationally recognized leader in public health, Joneigh S. Khaldun serves as chief medical executive for the state of Michigan and chief deputy director for health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Khaldun has received numerous awards including the 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health Award by the National Minority Quality Forum and the de Beaumont Foundation 40 Under 40 Leaders in Public Health Award. In 2020, she was named a Notable Woman in Health and Newsmaker of the Year by Crain’s Detroit.
"George Washington University gave me unparalleled access to health policy experts and faculty with experience leading health policy development and implementation on the front lines. There is no question that the opportunities at George Washington University helped springboard my career in public service."
Biography
Joneigh S. Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP is the chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). In those roles, she provides overall medical guidance for the state of Michigan and oversees public health, Medicaid, behavioral health, and aging services for MDHHS. She leads the state’s public health response to COVID-19. Prior to her role at MDHHS, she was the director of the Detroit Health Department, where she led a robust community health assessment, established a comprehensive reproductive health network, and led Detroit’s response to the largest Hepatitis A outbreak in modern U.S. history.
Previously, Khaldun was the Baltimore City Health Department’s chief medical officer and the founder and director of the fellowship in health policy in the University of Maryland department of emergency medicine. She is currently a member of the national advisory board for the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan, the health and medicine committee of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit.
Khaldun is the recipient of several awards, including the National Minority Quality Forum 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health Award, the deBeaumont Foundation 40 Under 40 Leaders in Public Health Award, the Kresge Emerging Leaders in Public Health Fellowship, the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health Dean’s 950 Award, 2020 Crain’s Detroit Notable Women in Health, and Crain’s Detroit 2020 Newsmaker of the Year. Khaldun obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, M.P.H. in health policy from the George Washington University, and completed residency in emergency medicine at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, NY, where she was elected chief resident in her final year. She is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and practices part time at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.