Dr. Ayanna Bennett is the Director of the DC Department of Health, appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2023. A board-certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she brings more than two decades of public health leadership and an unwavering commitment to health equity.

 

Under her leadership, DC Health has become more data-driven, community-centered, and operationally agile. She elevated the agency's data functions to the Office of the Director and serves on the board of CRISP DC, advancing regional health information exchange across jurisdictions. She spearheaded the Environmental Health Administration, focusing the agency on lead prevention, healthy homes, and environmental disparities; redesigned the District's Animal Care and Control Program and oversaw the opening of a new shelter; and led the restructuring of the School Health Program. She has also championed workforce initiatives, including multistate licensure pathways for RNs and LPNs and new educational pathways for Licensed Graduate Social Workers (LGSWs).

 

Before DC Health, Dr. Bennett served as Chief Health Equity Officer for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Her equity lens was forged in California, where she co-founded and led the 3rd Street Youth Center and Clinic, a community-based organization serving one of the city's most under-resourced neighborhoods.

 

Dr. Bennett holds degrees from Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco, where she completed her pediatric residency.