Starting Feb. 1, Dr. Erica Pan will become the next director and State Public Health Officer of the California Department of Public Health, succeeding Dr. Tomás Aragón, who was named in 2021 and retires Jan. 31.
She will work with partners to help to implement the Governor’s public health policy goals to support healthy individuals, families and communities.
“I am confident Erica will take CDPH to the next level with her deep understanding of public health, strong servant leadership, compassion and work ethic,” Dr. Aragón. “She brings to this role a unique combination of skills, along with a demonstrated commitment to equity, that will help her deliver results for the people of California.”
Dr. Pan joined CDPH in July 2020 as the deputy director for the Center for Infectious Diseases and State Epidemiologist. She helped lead the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple infectious disease outbreaks, Ebola planning and the current bird flu situation.
Dr. Pan has more than 20 years of public health leadership experience. Before joining CDPH, she was the Alameda County Health Office, serving various roles at the Alameda County Public Health since 2011.
“It is an incredible honor to serve California in this role at a critical time when we need to empower and engage the public to have confidence in the science and evidence that has saved lives and promotes a healthy California for all,” said Dr. Pan. “Dr. Aragón has been an inspiration and mentor to me from early on in my public health career and he is a respected public health leader who has led CDPH to ‘become the best at getting better.’ I aim to build on his legacy, and I’m committed to a smooth transition for the Department.”
Dr. Pan is also a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the UC San Francisco. She maintained her clinical work at San Francisco General Hospital and at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland in Infectious Diseases until 2019.
She graduated from Stanford University, then got her medical degree and master’s in public health from Tufts University in 1996.