Ashwin Vasan

Ashwin Vasan (born November 15, 1980) is an American physician and epidemiologist serving as the 44th commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.[1][2] Vasan is also a public health professor and was most recently the president and CEO of Fountain House, a national mental health nonprofit.[3][4]

Ashwin Vasan
Commissioner of the
New York City Department of Health
Assumed office
March 15, 2022
MayorEric Adams
Preceded byDave A. Chokshi
Personal details
Born (1980-11-15) November 15, 1980
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Harvard University (ScM)
University of Michigan (MD)
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (PhD)

Education

Vasan earned a Master of Science from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004. He graduated from University of Michigan Medical School in 2011 and completed a PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2015.

Career

Ashwin Vasan started his career working on HIV/AIDS, specifically, access to antiretroviral therapy in the developing world. He started his career with Partners In Health in Boston, before working for the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization on the “3by5” Initiative, under Dr Jim Yong Kim, to expand access to HIV treatment, spending time in Switzerland and ruralUganda.[5] In 2014, Vasan joined the faculty of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, where he works as an assistant professor of clinical population and family health and medicine.[6]

In 2016, Vasan was appointed to serve as the founding executive director of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's[7] Health Access Equity Unit, a city-wide initiative aimed at improving the health and social welfare of marginalized communities in New York City.[8]

In 2019, Vasan was named president and CEO of Fountain House, a national mental health nonprofit that provides employment, education, housing, health and wellness programs to the mentally ill.[9] Fountain House is notable for creating the Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation, which has been replicated in over 300 locations in 30 countries.[7] Vasan is a practicing primary care physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Vasan has been quoted as a public health expert in national and international publications including CNN,[10] The New York Times,[11] NPR,[12] CBS News,[13] USA Today,[14] The Guardian,[15] Forbes,[16] WNYC,[17] Al Jazeera,[18] today.com,[19] and Insider.[20]

Vasan was also a member of the City & State advisory board until assuming his current role as NYC Health Commissioner. He has also served on the boards of Transportation Alternatives, inseparable, and Forward Majority. [9]

Personal life

Vasan lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three kids.[7]

References
  1. Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (22 December 2021). "Mental Health Expert Will Lead New York's Pandemic Response". The New York Times.
  2. Lewis, Caroline (2021-07-15). "Inside NYC's Original Social Club For Mental Health". Gothamist. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  3. ""This is going to compound your problems": Coronavirus poses new challenge for many with mental illness". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  4. Ruiz, Rebecca (2020-10-18). "COVID-19 proves that suicide is much more than a personal struggle". Mashable. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  5. "Alumni News and Features". alumni.sph.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  6. "Ashwin Vasan | Columbia Public Health". www.publichealth.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  7. "The 2021 Nonprofit Power 100: 51-100". City & State NY. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  8. "Ashwin Vasan, MD at CUMC/Presbyterian Hospital and Vanderbilt Clinic: Internal Medicine | NewYork-Presbyterian Doctor in New York, NY". doctors.nyp.org. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  9. Ortega, Ralph; Huggins Salomon, Sheryl (2021-03-08). "City & State names first advisory board". City & State NY. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  10. Ward, Vicky. "How the very rich are different in the Covid-19 fight". CNN. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  11. Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer; Lu, Denise; Dance, Gabriel J. X. (2020-04-03). "Location Data Says It All: Staying at Home During Coronavirus Is a Luxury". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  12. "How To Be Alone, But Not Lonely, Despite The Coronavirus". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  13. ""This is going to compound your problems": Coronavirus poses new challenge for many with mental illness". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  14. "It's Working in Eugene, Olympia, Denver: More Cities Are Sending Civilian Responders, Not Police, on Mental Health Calls". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  15. "'It's chaotic': New York street partying fuels fears of coronavirus resurgence". the Guardian. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  16. Dangor, Graison. "Mental Health Advocates Say These Things Need To Change No Matter Who Wins The Election". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  17. "Mentally Ill While Black | The Brian Lehrer Show". WNYC. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  18. Piven, Ben. "Excitement and anxiety on eve of New York City reopening". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  19. "Is it safe to go to the beach? Experts answer 5 important questions". today.com. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  20. Berman, Jenifer. "Companies have an opportunity to provide meaningful help to employees coping with mental health issues". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
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