The Los Angeles Post

Dr. Erica Pan Appointed Next CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer

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Sacramento – As announced earlier today by Governor Gavin Newsom, Dr. Erica Pan will become the next Director and State Public Health Officer of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on February 1. She will work collaboratively with partners to help to implement the Governor’s public health policy goals to support healthy individuals, families and communities.

Dr. Pan will replace Dr. Tomás Aragón who recently announced his upcoming retirement. Dr. Aragón has served as CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer since January 4, 2021, and retires on January 31.

Dr. Aragón has served California as a public health leader for more than 20 years. As CDPH Director, he has helped transform public health policies and systems with an emphasis on equity, antiracism, healing and health for all. Before joining CDPH, he was the Health Officer for the City and County of San Francisco.

“I am confident Erica will take CDPH to the next level with her deep understanding of public health, strong servant leadership, compassion and work ethic,” Dr. Aragón. “She brings to this role a unique combination of skills, along with a demonstrated commitment to equity, that will help her deliver results for the people of California.”

Dr. Pan joined CDPH in July 2020 as the Deputy Director for the Center for Infectious Diseases and State Epidemiologist. During that time, she helped lead the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple infectious disease outbreaks, Ebola planning and the current bird flu situation.

In all, Dr. Pan has more than 20 years of public health leadership experience. Before joining CDPH, she served as the Alameda County Health Officer. In fact, she held various roles at the Alameda County Public Health Department since 2011, including Director of the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, and Deputy Health Officer.

“It is an incredible honor to serve California in this role at a critical time when we need to empower and engage the public to have confidence in the science and evidence that has saved lives and promotes a healthy California for all,” said Dr. Pan. “Dr. Aragón has been an inspiration and mentor to me from early on in my public health career and he is a respected public health leader who has led CDPH to ‘become the best at getting better.’ I aim to build on his legacy, and I’m committed to a smooth transition for the Department,” said Dr. Pan.

Dr. Pan is also a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. She maintained her clinical work at San Francisco General Hospital and at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland in Infectious Diseases until 2019.