On Monday, January 21, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed 1999 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Nadine Burke-Harris as the first-ever surgeon general of the state of California. She will be sworn in on February 11. Nadine is a pediatrician, the founder and CEO of the
Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco and a national leader on toxic stress and its impact on children.
Nadine was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and spent the first four years of her life in Jamaica. She then settled with her family in Palo Alto, California. Nadine earned her BA in integrative biology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996. She graduated from University of California at Davis Medical School in 2001. She completed an MPH degree at Harvard University in May 2002.
"As Surgeon General, Dr. Burke Harris will urge policymakers at every level of government and leaders across the state to consider the social determinants of health, especially for children," the governor's press release stated. "Her work will focus on combating the root causes of serious health conditions — like adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress — and using the platform of Surgeon General to reach young families across the state."
