Susan Kansagra, MD, MBA

Chief Medical Officer

Susan Kansagra, MD, MBA, serves as Chief Medical Officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Kansagra is a skilled physician leader with two decades of experience supporing health at the state, local, and national levels. She has extensive experience in the development and implementation of public health programs, bringing together cross-sector partners to address health challenges in innovative ways, and communicating on a wide range of public health topics.

Kansagra’s previous roles include serving as Assistant Secretary and State Health Officer for North Carolina, where she led the Division of Public Health, overseeing $1 billion in funding and 1,000 staff. She helped lead the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response, coordinating with public health and health care systems on vaccine, testing, treatment, and medical surge response. Additionally, she spearheaded the development of NC’s Opioid Ac􀆟on Plan, bringing together stakeholders to align on a coordinated set of metrics and actions to address substance use and opioid overdose. She is a two-time recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence for her work on drug overdose and for leading NC’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Kansagra also served as Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Health Department, where she led internationally recognized public health policies and programs aimed at reducing chronic disease, as well as Director of Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, where she implemented clinical quality improvement initiatives for the country’s extensive public health care system.

Kansagra is an appointed member of the CDC Community Preventive Services Task Force and has served on multiple boards over her career, including as Board President of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors and on the Executive Board of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She completed her undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, her medical and business degrees at Duke University, and her internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital.