DR. ASHWIN VASAN, ScM, MD, PhD
Physician & Health Leader | Former New York City Health Commissioner
Dr. Ashwin Vasan is a physician, epidemiologist, and public health leader who believes that everyone deserves a fair shot to be healthy. He has spent his career at the intersection of health care, public policy, and innovation to expand opportunity for people to live longer, healthier lives.
A primary care physician with more than two decades of clinical and public health experience, Dr. Vasan brings a unique combination of expertise in frontline patient care, executive leadership, and public service , translating complex health systems into ambitious policies as well as practical, operational solutions. His perspective has been shaped by domestic and global experience, having worked across the United States, sub-Saharan Africa, India, and elsewhere, on some of the world’s most pressing health challenges. He has emerged as a trusted voice on what shapes health, from public institutions and technology to the social conditions that influence well-being.
Dr. Vasan was appointed as New York City’s 44th Health Commissioner in late 2021 and served through to 2024, leading one of the world’s largest municipal health agencies, where he was responsible for the health of 8.5 million New Yorkers. During his tenure, he guided the city out of COVID-19, the 2022 mpox outbreak, and led the response to a growing mental health crisis, while advancing initiatives focused on prevention, health care affordability, and modernizing public health infrastructure.
Under his leadership, the City launched and passed into law HealthyNYC, the omnibus prevention and population health agenda which led NYC to reach its highest ever life expectancy of 83.2 years in 2024, driven by reductions in COVID deaths, heart disease, screenable cancers, suicides, and a historic 28% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024. He launched first-of-its-kind programs, including NYC TeenSpace, a digital mental health platform now serving more than 50,000 young people with licensed therapy, and expanded community and clinical supports for people with severe mental health needs. He also made affordability central to the agency, launching the City’s effort to relieve $2B in medical debt, and the creation of the Office of Healthcare Accountability that brings transparency to local hospital prices. He built core public health infrastructure through enhanced, AI-native data systems in New York, culminating with the launch of the Center for Population Health Data Science, and expanded investments into workforce wellness and resilience during his tenure.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Vasan served as CEO of the mental health nonprofit Fountain House, where he expanded the organization’s scale and budget with new gifts from MacKenzie Scott, Ford Foundation, and support from The Bridgespan Group, and spent more than a decade with Partners In Health and the World Health Organization working on global HIV/AIDS and health systems. This global experience continues to shape Dr. Vasan’s approach, grounded in the belief that improving health outcomes requires clear goals, ambition, collaboration, and a commitment to addressing both clinical care and the social and structural factors that influence it.
Today, he continues to work at the crossroads of public service and innovation as an Operating Partner at Commonweal Ventures and as a Senior Fellow in Health Policy and Global Affairs at Yale University. He also sits on the boards of several leading organizations focused on health and mental well-being, including the Child Mind Institute, Milken Institute, OneMind, and Inseparable. A native of Chicago with roots in Chennai, India, Dr. Vasan lives in New York City with his wife and three children, enjoys cooking, swimming, biking, and is a dedicated supporter of Arsenal Football Club and all things Chicago sports.