Gov. Mike DeWine has filled the final position open in his cabinet, which is likely the most diverse in state history. Amy Acton, his pick to lead the Ohio Department of Health, has decades of experience as a doctor and administrator.
Acton most recently served as a community research and grants management officer at the Columbus Foundation. She previously had served as an assistant professor at The Ohio State University's College of Public Health and holds a master's degree in public health from the university.
She’s also the first physician to lead the agency in almost five years.
Acton says she has a holistic approach.
“The food we eat is our health," Acton says. "Where we live, the zip code we’re born into is our health. All the things that surround us are creating the conditions in which we can lead flourishing lives."
Among Acton’s priorities are infant mortality and youth homelessness, which she says she experienced growing up in Youngstown.
The Department of Health oversees Ohio’s abortion clinics. Acton says she doesn’t have a stance on abortion, but that she’ll follow the law.
