Susan Kansagra, M.D., MBA

Susan Kansagra, MD, MBA is a public health leader with two decades of experience supporting health at the state, local, and national levels.  She served as State Health Officer for NC where she led the NC Division of Public Health with oversight of $1 billion in funding and 1,000 staff.  While there, she served as Operational Lead for NC’s COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and spearheaded the development of NC’s first Opioid Action Plan.

Her previous roles include serving 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, and Director of Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, where she led clinical quality improvement initiatives for the country’s largest public healthcare system.

She is an appointed member of the CDC Community Preventive Services Task Force and has served on multiple boards, 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 is two-time recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence for her work convening stakeholders to combat drug overdose and for leading NC’s COVID-19 response efforts. She completed her undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, graduate degrees at Duke University, and medical training at Massachusetts General Hospital.