Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc

Dr. DeSalvo served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she led the nation’s charge to develop an interoperable health IT system that would help improve the health of consumers no matter where they live, work, and play. Her career has focused on improving access to affordable, high quality care for all people, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations. Before joining HHS, she served as the City of New Orleans Health Commissioner from 2011–2014. While there, she transformed an out-of-date health department into one that has since achieved national accreditation, and restored health care to devastated areas of the city, including leading the establishment of a new, state-of-the-art public hospital. Prior to her work for the City of New Orleans, Dr. DeSalvo was a Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean for Community Affairs and Health Policy at Tulane University School of Medicine.