Alameda County Names New Health Director

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Colleen Chawla, currently the deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, to be the new director of the county's Health Care Services Agency.

Board members said they selected Chawla after a national recruitment effort and she will assume her new post on Dec. 18.

Alameda County officials said that as deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Chawla is responsible for overseeing a department with an annual budget of $2.1 billion and more than 8,000
employees.

Chawla initially joined the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 1999 after seven years with the AIDS Project Los Angeles and from 2005 to 2010 she served as the director of state government relations for two publicly traded biotechnology companies before returning to San Francisco in 2011 as that agency's deputy director.

Alameda County officials said Chawla and her husband are longtime Oakland residents.

"We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Colleen Chawla as our new Health Care Services Agency director," Alameda County Board of Supervisors president Wilma Chan said in a statement.

"As a seasoned public sector executive, Colleen has direct experience overseeing the full continuum of safety net health care services, including two hospitals, and a commitment to deliver high quality culturally-responsive services to our communities," Chan said.

County Administrator Susan Muranishi said, "We congratulate Colleen on her appointment and look forward to her joining the county's strong executive leadership team."

Muranishi added, "We also extend our sincere gratitude to Rebecca Gebhart for serving as the Health Care Services Agency's interim director for almost two years and continuing to assist during the transition."

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--Bay City News/Image via Alameda County