Board of Directors

Dr. Sanchez serves as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Prevention and is the American Heart Association (AHA) lead on Target:BP (a joint initiative with the American Medical Association), KnowDiabetesbyHeart^TM (a joint initiative with the American Diabetes Association) and COVID-19-related activities. Prior to joining AHA, he served as Vice President and CMO for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) and before that, he served as director of the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas (UT) School of Public health. Dr. Sanchez served as Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2004 to 2006 and Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health from 2001 to 2004. He oversaw the SARS response in 2003-04, the influenza vaccine shortage of 2004, and the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

He served as the local public health officer in Austin-Travis County from 1994 to 1998.  He has served on numerous health-related boards and advisory committees at the local, state and national levels.  From 2008 to 2012, he served as chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Dr. Sanchez obtained his M.D. from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, an M.P.H. from the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, and an M.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University. He holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering and a B.A. in chemistry from Boston University. Dr. Sanchez is board certified in family medicine.