Umair Shah, MD, MPH, was appointed Secretary of Healthby Governor Jay Inslee on December 21, 2020. Prior to this,Dr. Shah served as Executive Director and Local HealthAuthority for Harris County Public Health (HCPH) – thenationally accredited county public health agency for thenation’s 3rd largest county with 4.7 million people.Dr. Shah earned his BA (philosophy) from VanderbiltUniversity; his MD from the University of Toledo HealthScience Center; and completed an Internal MedicineResidency, Primary Care/General Medicine Fellowship, andMPH (management), at the University of Texas HealthScience Center. He also completed an international healthpolicy 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. He started his formal public health journey as Chief Medical Officer at Galveston County’s Health District before joining HCPH to oversee its clinical health system and infectious disease portfolio.Under his leadership, HCPH has won numerous national awards including recognition as Local Health Department of the Year from the National Association of County and CityHealth Officials (NACCHO) in 2016.Dr. Shah currently holds numerous leadership positions with respected entities like the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; U.S. Centers for DiseaseControl & Prevention; Trust for America’s Health; Network for Public Health Law; and Texas Medical Association. He previously served as president of NACCHO (and its Texas affiliate) representing the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments.Over his career, Dr. Shah has been a clinician, an innovator, an educator, and a leader in health.