Dr. Garcia is a globally recognized and respected health and life sciences leader with proven success in international, federal and state governance and administration, academic health centers and higher education.

 

Dr. Garcia is a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He served as the fourteenth Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As the ASH, Dr. García was the primary advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on matters involving the nation's public health system and health science. He oversaw the U.S. Public Health Service and its Commissioned Corps and his responsibilities included disease prevention, health promotion, public health preparedness, women's and minority health, reduction of health disparities, fight against HIV/AIDS, pandemic influenza planning, and vaccine preventable diseases. Dr. García's experience in public health encompassed health care delivery, bioterrorism preparedness, health policy, and international health affairs.

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He served as the Director of Health in the District of Columbia and Commissioner of Health for the State of Connecticut. He served as the inaugural Executive Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Control and Prevention Platform and Member of the Leadership Team of the MD Anderson Moon Shots program before joining American Express as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Garcia is a founding member of Aegis Health Analytics and serves as a member of the Board of Directors providing advisory to health and life sciences companies and universities.

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Dr. García served as Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office Western Hemisphere for the World Health Organization. As Deputy Director, Dr. García was responsible for setting the direction and strategy of the organization alongside the director and for providing leadership and advice on all policy decisions. He was responsible for maintaining effective relations between the organization and the governments of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

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Prior to becoming Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. García served as the Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Advisor at MAXIMUS Federal Services Inc. There, García oversaw the work of the MAXIMUS' Center for Global Health and was the principal architect of the strategic partnership plan for the Western Hemisphere. Dr. García led several programs at MAXIMUS including emergency preparedness and disaster relief.

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Dr. García was named President and Dean of the Ponce School of Medicine. On his inaugural speech he said, "All the things I have mentioned here are not dreams but things that I am already working on, things that are happening, and will continue to evolve"