Dr. Georges Benjamin, MD

Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association As executive director of APHA since 2002, Dr. Georges Benjamin is leading the Association's push to make America the healthiest nation in one generation. He came to APHA from his position as secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Benjamin became secretary of health in Maryland in April 1999, following four years as its deputy secretary for public health services. There, he oversaw the expansion and improvement of the state's Medicaid program. Benjamin, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He is board-certified in internal medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He is the author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters. His recent book The Quest for Health Reform: A Satirical History is an expose of the nearly 100-year quest to ensure quality, affordable health coverage for all through the use of political cartoons. Benjamin is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and also serves on the boards for many organizations including Research!America, the Reagan-Udall Foundation, and the University of Maryland Medical System. In 2014 and 2008, he was named one of the top 25 minority executives in health care by Modern Healthcare Magazine, in addition to being voted among the 100 most influential people in health care from 2007-2013 and one of the nation's most influential physician executives from 2009-2015.