Leadership | Department of Public Health

Frank A. Franklin, Ph.D., J.D., M.P.H.

Interim Health Commissioner

Interim Health Commissioner Dr. Frank Franklin has a background in injury epidemiology, forensic epidemiology, health policy, and the law.

Before his role as Interim Health Commissioner, Dr. Franklin served as Deputy Health Commissioner. Prior to that position, he was the Director of Epidemiology, Analytics and Evaluation Division at the Multnomah County Health Department. He also had the opportunity to work with an integrated substance use treatment and primary care agency as the Director of Treatment and Prevention Services.

Dr. Franklin received his doctoral training at The Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg of School of Public Health. He earned a master’s in public health and completed post-doctoral training in health policy from the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Franklin also holds a Juris Doctor from the Kline School of Law at Drexel University. He is a member of the National Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Center for Injury Control and Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Franklin’s career as a public health practitioner reflects a commitment to advancing population health and well-being through applied epidemiology, the law, and public policy.

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Ryan Taylor, M.B.A.

Chief Operating Officer

ryan.taylor@phila.gov

Ryan Taylor, MBA, is the Department of Public Health’s Chief Operating Officer. In his role, Taylor serves as a Deputy Commissioner and leads the agency’s finance, budget, revenue, grants, and information technology functions. He advises the Health Commissioner on a broad range of policy and operational issues and represents the department to internal and external partners.

Taylor has dedicated his nearly 15-year career in healthcare operations and finance to improving the health of his community. Prior to joining the City of Philadelphia, he was the Senior Director of Operations for the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry. A recognized leader, he has developed multiple innovative, collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to health services, which have greatly expanded access to treatment for vulnerable patients.

Taylor was awarded both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Business Administration from Temple University. He completed a post-graduate administrative fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he concentrated on patient safety and analytics.

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Palak Raval-Nelson, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Deputy Health Commissioner

palak.raval-nelson@phila.gov

Palak Raval-Nelson is Deputy Health Commissioner for the Department of Public Health. She has worked for the department since 1996 when she began her career as a public health sanitarian. Since then, she has served as a supervisor, manager, administrator, and most recently as director of Environmental Health Services. As Deputy Health Commissioner, Raval-Nelson has oversight of Environmental Health Services, Air Management Services, Public Health Laboratory, and the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office.

Raval-Nelson also serves as adjunct faculty at Drexel University’s School of Public Health and Temple University. She teaches environmental and occupational health, as well as vulnerable populations and the environment. She has presented many papers at NEHA, PPHA, and APHA, and has had several publications in the National Journal of Environmental Health. In 2008, she published her first book, Breast Cancer Politics: An Evaluation of the Current Funding Policies. She has graduated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute.

Raval-Nelson has her B.S. in Biology from Temple University, her M.P.H. from MCP Hahnemann University (graduating with the distinguished Hiega Society Award), and her Ph.D. in environmental health and policy from Drexel University. She is a member of the Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society. She was recognized in 2006 by the Society of Women Environmental Professionals as an outstanding woman environmental professional for the Delaware Valley.

Raval-Nelson is deeply committed on working with vulnerable populations and being a voice for marginalized communities to ensure equity and environment justice. She has been a civil servant for 26 years and believes in helping people.

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Gail Carter Hamilton, M.S.N., R.N., C.S.N.

Chief Racial Equity Officer

gail.carter-hamilton@phila.gov

Gail Carter-Hamilton served as the Pediatric Partnerships Manager in the Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Containment Division from August 2020 until her appointment as Chief Racial Equity Officer in January 2022. In her previous role, Ms. Carter Hamilton was the primary coordinator for the implementation of the City’s COVID-19 guidance and regulations at all schools and early childcare settings in Philadelphia.

Carter-Hamilton completed her B.S. in nursing at La Salle and her M.S. in nursing at Wilmington University. She has served as a school nurse for the Philadelphia city schools and has had the opportunity to care for various populations at local hospitals.

Carter-Hamilton is a Philadelphia native who lives in Mount Airy with her husband, son, and dog Brady.

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James Garrow, M.P.H.

Communications Director

phlpublichealth@phila.gov

James Garrow has served as Communications Director for the Department of Public Health since 2018. Previously, he held positions with the department as Director of Digital Public Health, Operations and Logistics Manager, and Health Communications Specialist. He has presented internationally on topics of digital media, crisis communications, and emergency risk communication.

Garrow was born and raised in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, attended Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University. He lives in Roxborough with his wife and three children.

Sara Enes, M.B.A., M.S.W.

Chief of Staff

sara.enes@phila.gov

Sara Enes, M.B.A., M.S.W., is the Chief of Staff for the Department of Public Health. She has worked in the department since 2009 and has served as the Patient Assistance Program Coordinator, Medical Affairs Administrator, Assistant Health Center Director, and Health Center Director at Health Center #2 and #6 in the division of Ambulatory Health Services. In August 2022 Enes became the Acting Director of the Division of Disease Control.

Enes earned both her Bachelor and Master of Social Work degrees at Temple University and Master of Business Administration, with a focus on healthcare, at The George Washington University.

Enes is deeply committed to improving access to quality healthcare for underserved communities in Philadelphia.

Megan Todd, Ph.D.

Chief Epidemiologist

megan.todd@phila.gov

Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Megan Todd has been with the department since 2019, working most recently as the Director of the Data Lab for the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (CDIP). Before joining the department, she served as lecturer in the Global Health Program and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Center for Health and Wellbeing, both at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Columbia Aging Center and Fellow at the Columbia Population Research Center at Columbia University.

In her time at CDIP, Dr. Todd worked to hire and mentor new epidemiologists and to build a team whose work integrates the role of social determinants of health on public health. In addition, she has developed reports and analyses to build our understanding of the factors that lead to early death and disability and the impact of current departmental efforts to address these determinants.

Dr. Todd has a Ph.D. in Public Affairs and Demography from Princeton University, an MA in Public Affairs from Princeton, and an AB in Economics from Harvard University.

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Name	Job title	Email	Phone #
Andrew R. Best, Jr. D.P.A., M.P.A., M.S.S., L.S.W.	Director, Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction	andrew.best@phila.gov	(215) 686-5196
Kathleen A. Brady, M.D.	Director, HIV Health	kathleen.a.brady@phila.gov	(215) 685-4778
Kimberly Bunk	Director, Facilities Management	kimberly.bunk@phila.gov	(215) 685-0918
Landrus Burress, DrPH, M.P.H., M.S.	Director, Disease Control	landrus.burress@phila.gov	(215) 685-6740
Kinnari Chandriani, M.D.	Director, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention	gethealthyphilly@phila.gov	(215) 685-5684
Jeffrey Easter	Director, Human Resources	jeffrey.easter@phila.gov	(215) 685-5200
Stacey Kallem, M.D., M.S.H.P.	Director, Maternal, Child and Family Health	stacey.kallem@phila.gov	(215) 685-5225
Dawn Kiesewetter, M.P.H.	Director, Environmental Health Services	dawn.kiesewetter@phila.gov	(215) 685-7490
Cheryl Kramer, M.B.A.	Director, Ambulatory Health Services	cheryl.kramer@phila.gov	(215) 685-6769
William Marks	Fiscal Officer, Health Fiscal	william.marks@phila.gov	(215) 685-5342
Bernadette Matthis, M.S.B.A. M.L.S. (A.S.C.P.)	Director, Public Health Laboratory	bernadette.matthis@phila.gov	(215) 685-6773
Kassahun Sellassie, Ph.D.	Director, Air Management Services	kassahun.sellassie@phila.gov	(215) 685-7584
Lindsay Simon, M.D.	Acting Chief Medical Examiner	lindsay.simon@phila.gov	(215) 685-7458
Tracie Stokes	Director, Information Technology	tracie.stokes@phila.gov	(215) 685-4750