Doctor Rachel L. Levine is a physician and public health official who became the first openly transgender woman to be confirmed for federal office by the United States Senate in 2021. She currently serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she oversees the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, an office in charge of the nation's public health policy. Dr. Levine plays a key role in the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she also hopes to tackle other major public health issues such as the current opioid crisis and the difficulties LGBTQ+ individuals face when searching for and receiving quality health care.
Born on October 28, 1957 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Dr. Levine graduated from Harvard College in 1979 and received her M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1983. She completed her medical training in pediatrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center and she continued to practice medicine there until 1993. During her time with Mount Sinai, Dr. Levine focused on the connection between physical and mental health in children and young adults.
In 1993, she moved to Pennsylvania and served as a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. She also founded Penn State Hershey Medical Center's Adolescent Medicine Division and Eating Disorder clinic and she served as the Chief of the Division for several years. She was nominated as Pennsylvania's Physician General in 2015 by Governor Tom Wolf. Her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the state's Senate. She served as the Physician General until 2018 when she was named the state's Secretary of Health. Dr. Levine tackled many public health crises during her tenure as Secretary of Health. One of her biggest initiatives focused on the high number of opioid overdoses. Under her leadership, she authorized law enforcement agents to carry the anti-overdose drug Naloxone that could be administered on the scene. This initiative also allowed Pennsylvanians to purchase Naloxone from a pharmacy without a prescription from a doctor.
Dr. Levine uses her expertise and voice to speak on health inequality issues that impact marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with ABC News Prime, Dr. Levine said "I am laser focused on my public health mission....That includes, of course, COVID-19, the increasing number of overdose deaths that we're seeing, health equity and many other programs that we need to work on and achieve in public health....I think it is very important to advocate for equality and health equity for the LGBTQ community." She has given countless talks that address her public health initiatives and ideas and has written articles on her research and experiences in the medical field. In 2017, she was named one of NBC News' #Pride30 for her work in addressing the health disparity the LGTBQ+ community faces and in 2015, she served as the Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia Pride Parade.
In a 2020 interview with Philadelphia magazine, Dr. Levine said "One of my goals, being a state health official--especially being the secretary of health during this very challenging time of a global pandemic--is that people will see me. They'll see me doing my work and doing the very best I can to protect the public health of everyone in Pennsylvania." The article's reporter, Emily Goulet, added "....it's about letting people put a face to something they might not understand, so that they aren't fearful, so that they don't get angry, so that it doesn't lead to hate."
If you're interested in learning more about Dr. Rachel L. Levine, check out the articles listed below or watch this brief ABC News Prime interview.
Want to read some of Dr. Levine's published work? Be sure to explore Himmelfarb Library's catalogue for articles, book chapters and books authored by Dr. Levine!
References:
Burns, Katelyn. “Rachel Levine’s Historic Confirmation to the Biden Administration, Explained.” Vox, 24 Mar. 2021, www.vox.com/identities/22242177/rachel-levine-confirmation-biden-hhs-transgender.
“Dr. Rachel Levine: Trans Youth ‘Need to Be Nurtured,’ Not Limited from Activities.” YouTube, uploaded by ABC News, 1 June 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYsOe7wxTo.
Goulet, Emily. “Rachel Levine Is Saving Pennsylvania — and Becoming an Accidental Icon in the Process.” Philadelphia Magazine, 3 Oct. 2020, www.phillymag.com/news/2020/07/16/rachel-levine-pennsylvania-health.
O’Hara, Mary Emily. “#Pride30: Dr. Rachel Levine Is One of US's Highest-Ranking Trans Officials.” NBC News, 26 June 2017, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-dr-rachel-levine-pennsylvania-s-transgender-physician-general-n760901.
“Rachel L. Levine, M.D.” HHS.Gov, www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/rachel-levine.html. Accessed 11 June 2021.
Wamsley, Laurel. “Rachel Levine Makes History as 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed By Senate.” NPR, 24 Mar. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/24/980788146/senate-confirms-rachel-levine-a-transgender-woman-as-assistant-health-secretary.
Zezima, Katie. “Meet Rachel Levine, One of the Very Few Transgender Public Officials in America.” The Washington Post, 1 June 2016, web.archive.org/web/20200329053607/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-rachel-levine-one-of-the-very-few-transgender-public-officials-in-america/2016/06/01/cf6e2332-2415-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html.
“LGBT History Month — October 22: Rachel Levine.” Goqnotes.Com, 22 Oct. 2018, goqnotes.com/61545/lgbt-history-month-october-22-rachel-levine.
