Professional Affiliation

Acting Assistant Secretary for Health
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Expert Bio

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  DeSalvo also remains in her role as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, where she continues to set high level policy and the strategic direction of the office, including efforts related to interoperability.

Before joining the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she was Health Commissioner for the City of New Orleans, and Senior Health Policy Advisor to New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu, from 2011-2014.

DeSalvo was also a professor of medicine and vice dean for community affairs and health policy at Tulane University School of Medicine. She served as president of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, and the National Association of Chiefs of General Internal Medicine. She has also served on the boards of the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Society of General Internal Medicine.
DeSalvo has received many honors, including recognition as a "Woman of Excellence in Health Care" by the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus. In 2013, Governing Magazine named her one of nine Public Officials of the Year. The American Medical Student Association recognized her with a Women’s Leader Award in 2014. Modern Healthcare named her one of the 50 most influential physician executives in 2014.

DeSalvo earned her Medical Doctorate and Master’s in public health from Tulane University, and Master's in clinical epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health. She has an honorary doctorate from her alumnus institution, Suffolk University.