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The Alameda County Board of Supervisors announced last month that Colleen Chawla was unanimously appointed as director of the county’s Health Care Services Agency.
Chawla, who is currently the deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, was selected after a nationwide recruitment process. She will start her new role in Alameda County on Dec. 18.
“We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Colleen Chawla as our new Health Care Services Agency director,” said Wilma Chan, Board of Supervisors president and chair of the Health Committee. “As a seasoned public sector executive, Colleen has direct experience overseeing the full continuum of safety net health care services including two hospitals, and a commitment to deliver high quality culturally responsive services to our communities.”
In Chawla’s current position, she oversees a department with an annual budget of $2.1 billion and more than 8,000 employees. She joined the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 1999 and has held the position of deputy director since 2011, with a break in between serving from 2005 to 2010 as the director of state government relations for two publicly traded biotechnology companies.
Before coming to San Francisco, Chawla worked for seven years with the AIDS Project Los Angeles.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in public administration/health services administration from the University of San Francisco. She lives with her husband in Oakland.
“We congratulate Colleen on her appointment and look forward to her joining the County’s strong executive leadership team,” County Administrator Susan S. Muranishi said in a statement. “We also extend our sincere gratitude to Rebecca Gebhart for serving as the HCSA interim director for almost two years and continuing to assist through the transition.”
