Photo (top left to bottom right):  California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith

Over the last several days, the Biden-Harris transition has announced a number of key health nominees and appointees of keen interest to the ACEs/trauma/resilience advocacy movement. While the positions taken by President-Elect Biden are consistent with the broad policy priorities of many trauma/resilience advocacy organizations, the campaign documents were lacking in specific reference to trauma-informed approaches. On the other hand, the record of Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris reflects her knowledge of and support for trauma-informed approaches.

A statement from the Biden-Harris transition team says the health team brings “decades of experience in medicine, public health, and crisis management and are ready to lead on day one.” It continues “This deeply qualified, diverse team is tasked with containing the COVID pandemic; ensuring the safe, free, and equitable distribution of vaccines; making sure every American has access to affordable, quality health care; and guarding against the full range of health threats facing our nation.”

The transition team’s statement highlights how the Biden-Harris transition prioritizes protecting frontline workers, providing wide and fair distribution of vaccines, addressing persistent health disparities and the impact of COVID on certain communities, building on Obamacare, and laying “the scientific and medical groundwork that will allow us to safely and equitably re-open schools and businesses, get back to our lives and loved ones, and build our economy back better.”

Below are brief descriptions of the key nominees/appointees in health as reported by the transition:

—California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been nominated to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services. A former member of Congress who helped drive passage of the Affordable Care Act — and an Attorney General who led the defense of the law in the Supreme Court last month — Becerra has spent his career fighting to protect underserved communities and expand access to quality, affordable health care. In his current position, he has held drug companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, led a multi-state coalition to protect the health and welfare of immigrant children being held in detention, and established a new agency dedicated to protecting communities that shoulder a disproportionate share of public health hazards. As the leader of the second-largest Justice Department in the nation, Becerra has experience managing a large and complex agency, and is ready to run HHS on day one. If confirmed, he will be the first Latino to lead the department in its history.

—Dr. Vivek Murthy has been nominated to serve as Surgeon General of the United States. Previously confirmed by the Senate to serve in the same capacity, he dedicated his tenure as America's Doctor to taking on the most pressing health issues facing the American people, including tackling the opioid crisis, stemming the spread of deadly viruses, and shining a light on stress, isolation, and other threats to Americans' mental health and well-being. A decorated physician, research scientist, and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Murthy is a crisis-tested leader who is uniquely qualified to help the American people navigate the critical health challenges ahead of us, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A trusted national voice on health issues and a long-time advisor to President-elect Biden, he currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect’s COVID-19 transition Advisory Board.

—Dr. Rochelle Walensky has been nominated to serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Chief of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, she is a prominent physician and scholar who has advised domestic and global medical organizations on a broad range of health issues. She has also been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic response in Massachusetts and conducted scientific modeling and research on effective vaccine delivery and strategies to reach underserved communities. Dr. Walensky’s influential research on HIV/AIDS has made her one of the nation’s leading experts on virus testing, prevention, and treatment.

—Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith will serve as the COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair. An Associate Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Management at the Yale School of Medicine, she is the founding director of Yale’s Equity Research and Innovation Center, a groundbreaking academic and policy organization created to address inequities across the health care system. Among America’s foremost experts on persistent disparities in health care and outcomes, Dr. Nunez-Smith will be an essential voice for ensuring that communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and other health threats have equal and enduring access to the care they need. She currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect’s COVID-19 transition Advisory Board. Dr. Nunez-Smith will advise the president-elect on a whole-of-government effort to reduce COVID-19 disparities in response, care, and treatment, including racial and ethinic disparities.

—Dr. Anthony Fauci will serve as Chief Medical Adviser to the President on COVID-19 and continue in his role as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The nation’s preeminent expert on infectious diseases and an adviser to six U.S. presidents, Dr. Fauci has been one of the most trusted figures in the country for decades. In both his new and ongoing roles, Dr. Fauci will remain an essential voice both in informing the public about health risks and safety measures and in helping the scientific community, the Biden-Harris administration, and local officials overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Jeff Zients will serve as coordinator of the COVID-19 Response Team and Counselor to the President. A widely-praised manager and effective public servant, Zients is known for his extraordinary track record of successfully navigating large and complex initiatives through early logistical challenges, including the 2013 HealthCare.gov tech surge and the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ fuel-efficiency program. Having served as Director of the National Economic Council, Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the inaugural Chief Performance Officer of the United States, Zients’ comprehensive expertise in crisis management makes him ideally suited to coordinate the national response to the pandemic. Zients will advise the president-elect on the implementation of the federal government’s COVID response, including managing safe and equitable vaccine distribution, the pandemic supply chain, and coordination across federal agencies and state and local governments.

—In addition, Natalie Quillian will serve as Deputy National Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response Team. Quillian, a national security expert and former White House and Pentagon senior advisor, played an instrumental role in coordinating the Obama-Biden administration’s interagency response to the opioid epidemic.

Senate confirmation is needed for the HHS Secretary, CDC Director, and Surgeon General. ACEs Connection will be reporting on other nominees and appointees whose portfolios include issues related to ACEs/trauma/resilience.