PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS
Those driving innovation in public health to address the health needs of everyone
Dave Chokshi
Chair
Common Health Coalition
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc is the inaugural Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York. He is also Chair of the Common Health Coalition, Co-Chair of the Health and Political Economy Project, and a primary care doctor at Bellevue Hospital. Previously, Dr. Chokshi served as the 43rd Commissioner at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, one of the leading health agencies in the world. He led the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its historic campaign to vaccinate over 6 million New Yorkers. Dr. Chokshi is a member of the Board of Directors of Rock Health.
Q: What motivates you to continue working towards change each day?
A: As chair of the Common Health Coalition, I’m building on the memories from the pandemic and turning things into not just “lessons learned,” but “lessons mobilized.” We saw, along with all the tragedy and the suffering, a huge amount that was positive. We saw the walls come tumbling down between health care and public health — whether it’s through our vaccination campaign, or testing, or any of the other things that we did to mobilize this once-in-a-generation pandemic response.