Rachel Levine

Rachel Levine
Official portrait, 2021
17th Assistant Secretary for Health
Assumed office
March 26, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
SecretaryXavier Becerra
Preceded byBrett Giroir
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health
In office
July 2017 – January 23, 2021
GovernorTom Wolf
Preceded byKaren Murphy
Succeeded byAlison Beam (acting)
Personal details
Born (1957-10-28) October 28, 1957 (age 67)
Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Martha Peaslee
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2013)​
Children2
EducationHarvard University (BS)
Tulane University (MD)
Template:Infobox uniformed officer

Rachel Leland Levine (/ləˈviːn/; born as Richard Leland Levine on October 28, 1957) [1] is an American pediatrician, politician, and four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC). Levine is the 17th and current Assistant Secretary for Health since 2021. She was Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 2017 to 2021 during the Tom Wolf administration.[2]

She is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. She was the Pennsylvania physician general from 2015 to 2017.

On February 13, 2021, President Joe Biden formally nominated Levine to be Assistant Secretary for Health[3]. On March 24, 2021, she was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for Health[3]. She is one of only a few openly transgender government officials in the United States,[4] and was the first to hold an office that requires Senate confirmation.[5][6] She was sworn-in on March 26, 2021.

On October 19, 2021, Levine became the first openly transgender four-star officer in the nation's eight uniformed services with her commission as a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service.[7] She is the first female PHSCC four-star admiral.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "LGBT History Month — October 22: Rachel Levine". Q-Notes. October 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Gov. Wolf to Nominate Alison Beam as Secretary of Health, Names Dr. Wendy Braund as Interim Acting Physician General". Governor's Office. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Rachel Levine, historic transgender nominee, confirmed as assistant health secretary". Washington Post. March 24, 2021.
  4. ↑ Zezima, Katie (June 1, 2016). "Meet Rachel Levine, one of the very few transgender public officials in America". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Eileen (January 19, 2021). "Biden's pick for Health and Human Services role would be first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Biden picks transgender woman as assistant health secretary". AP NEWS. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  7. ↑ Diamond, Dan (2021-10-19). "Rachel Levine, an openly transgender health official, to be sworn in as four-star admiral in Public Health Service". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  8. ↑ Franklin, Jonathan (2021-10-19). "Dr. Rachel Levine is sworn in as the nation's first transgender four-star officer". NPR. Retrieved 2021-10-20.