The White House Fellows program is a non-partisan federal fellowship established via executive order by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964. The fellowship is one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service, offering exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government. The fellowship was founded based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corporation and later the sixth secretary of health, education, and welfare.
Richard Henry Carmona is an American physician, nurse, police officer, public health administrator, and politician. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surgeon General of the United States. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, Carmona left office at the end of July 2006 upon the expiration of his term. After leaving office, Carmona was highly critical of the Bush administration for suppressing scientific findings which conflicted with the administration's ideological agenda.
The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) advises the White House and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the US government's response to the AIDS epidemic. The commission was formed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and each president since has renewed the council's charter.
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university and professional school of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad as uniformed health professionals, scientists and leaders; by conducting cutting-edge, military-relevant research; by leading the Military Health System in key functional and intellectual areas; and by providing operational support to units around the world.
The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is a council, chartered in each administration with a broad mandate to advise the president of the United States on science and technology. The current PCAST was established by Executive Order 13226 on September 30, 2001, by George W. Bush, was re-chartered by Barack Obama's April 21, 2010, Executive Order 13539, by Donald Trump's October 22, 2019, Executive Order 13895, and by Joe Biden's February 1, 2021, Executive Order 14007.
Gilbert S. Omenn is an American medical doctor and researcher. He currently is the Harold T. Shapiro Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan; professor of Computational medicine & bioinformatics, Molecular medicine & genetics, Human genetics, and Public health; and the Director of the UM Center for Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics. He is the discover of Omenn syndrome, a genetic disorder that is fatal in infancy unless treated. Omenn has served as editor of the Annual Review of Public Health from 1990–1996. and as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers and reviews and is the author or editor of 18 books.
Alexander Gordon Bearn informally Alick Bearn, a physician, scientist and author, was professor at Rockefeller University and Cornell University Medical College. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and had been Executive Officer of the American Philosophical Society. He died Friday, May 15, 2009, in Philadelphia. Prior to his death Bearn was working on a family history that followed the Bearn family from Béarn, France to Angus, Scotland and finally to the United States.
John O. Agwunobi is a Scottish-born Nigerian-American former public health official, pediatrician, and the former chief executive officer and executive chairman of Herbalife Nutrition. He was formerly senior vice-president of Walmart and president of the retailer's health and wellness business from 2007 to 2014.
James Benjamin Peake was the sixth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, serving from 2007 to 2009. In 2004, he retired from a 38-year United States Army career. He also served as the 40th Surgeon General of the United States Army.
Nancy J. Lescavage is a retired American rear admiral who served as the 20th director of the Navy Nurse Corps and was the commander of Naval Medical Education and Training Command, Bethesda, Maryland.
Lester Martínez López is an American government official and former Army general who serves as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs since 2023. While in the United States Army, Martínez López was the first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland. His responsibilities included overseeing the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease, which develops antidotes and vaccines for diseases soldiers might face on the battlefield.
James M. Galloway is an American medical doctor and public health physician. Galloway served as the Regional Health Administrator for the United States Department of Health and Human Services for the six eastern states that comprise Region V under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He also served as the Senior Federal Official for Health for Pandemic Influenza and Bioterrorism for the Department of Homeland Security's Region C, which includes an additional six states. Galloway was the lead for one of CDC's lead efforts as the Director of the Office of Health System Collaboration, integrating clinical care and public health at a national level.
Stephen L. Ondra is the chief medical adviser for the MITRE Corporation’s work as operator of the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare federally funded research and development center. Ondra advises all HHS organizations to advance private insurance markets, Medicare and Medicaid, value-based payments, and healthcare quality. Ondra was most recently CEO of Cygnus-AI Inc., a company specializing in artificial intelligence and clinical decision support tools for diagnostic radiology. He was also founder and chief executive officer of North Star Health Care Consulting, and served on the board of directors of Triple-S Management and electroCore. A neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, Ondra has also served in senior positions in the Federal government, having a role in health reform efforts and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He advises corporations, provider organizations and early-stage start-ups on the transition to value-based care and health IT strategy.
Brett P. Giroir is an American pediatrician. He was formerly the U.S. assistant secretary for health, a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and an acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner.
Geoffrey S. F. Ling is a medical doctor who retired from the United States Army as a colonel and was the CEO of On Demand Pharmaceuticals. He served as the founding director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office from 2014 until 2016. He was considered to be the "US Army's premier subject matter expert on traumatic brain injury (TBI)", and was for years the only neuro-intensive care specialist in the US military.
Olivier Brandicourt is a French business executive and physician, and the former chief executive officer of Sanofi.
Jawahar (Jay) Kalra MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS, CCPE is a Canadian physician, clinical researcher and educator. Kalra is a professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, UK and a Canadian Certified Physician Executive Leader (CCPE). Kalra served as a member of the Board of Governors University of Saskatchewan and currently serves on the Board of Directors, Council of Canadian Academies (CCA).
Robert J. T. Joy was an American physician and career Army Medical Corps officer who was an internationally recognized scholar in the field of the history of medicine. He was also a key leader in U.S. Department of Defense Medical Research and Development, and served as one of the key founding staff members of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, where he served as the first commandant of students, chair of the department of military medicine, and, after his retirement from military service, first professor and chair of the section of medical history at the university.
Anthony "Tony" Slonim is an American author, physician and healthcare executive who was the president and CEO of Renown Health until 2022. Before his 2014 appointment at Renown Health, he was executive vice president and chief medical officer for RWJBarnabas Health. He also held faculty appointments at the Jefferson College of Nursing and Health and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Slonim is the first quadruple-board-certified doctor in the United States with certifications in adult critical care, internal medicine, pediatric critical care and pediatrics.
Barry Keith Herman is an American board certified adult and child and adolescent psychiatrist, psychiatric administrator, and physician executive. He currently is Chief Medical Officer of Atentiv Health, a digital health specialty provider, since March, 2020. Immediately prior, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Tris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Monmouth Junction, NJ. He left this position at Tris in January 2020. Herman's interests include psychiatric administration and management, healthcare policy, and psychopharmacological research. He has spoken and written frequently on the topic of physician leadership and management. He is the author of over 100 scientific abstracts and manuscripts, and is frequently quoted in the media. His psychiatric research has been widely cited. Herman is the Past President of the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators, and currently serves on its Executive Council. He is the recipient of the 2017 American Psychiatric Association Administrative Psychiatry Award.
