Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Mark Ghaly

17. Mark Ghaly

As the secretary of Health and Human Services, Mark Ghaly is not only California’s top health officer but also the head of the state’s largest agency. A primary care pediatrician with degrees in biology and biomedical ethics from Brown University, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master’s Degree from Harvard’s School of Public Health, Ghaly is Gov. Newsom’s top health advisor, an enormous job given the governor’s focus on health matters and that little pandemic we just emerged from recently. And while that particular crisis has abated, there is no shortage of others to deal with, from fentanyl abuse to mental health to artificial intelligence regulation and health care affordability (he is also the chair of the state’s Health Care Affordability Board), making his role one that will deeply impact California for years to come. Public health is also a family affair for him: Ghaly’s wife Christina directs L.A. County’s Department of Health Services.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024