Commencement

Commencement Speaker

Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.P. (Emeritus), is the Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of public health professionals and represents more than 50,000 members spanning over 50 public health occupations. For over 125 years, the APHA's has been setting priorities and influencing public health policies affecting personal and environmental health, pollution control, programs and policies related to chronic and infectious diseases, and professional education in public health, amongst other issues including federal and state funding for health programs. The APHA mission is to improve public health for every American.

At APHA, Benjamin also serves as the publisher of public health’s premier scientific publication, American Journal of Public Health, as well as the APHA's official monthly newspaper, The Nation’s Health.  He has authored more than 80 scientific articles and book chapters.

Benjamin earned his M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.  He is board-certified in internal medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a Fellow Emeritus of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Beginning his medical career in 1981, Benjamin was chief of the Acute Illness Clinic at the Madigan Army Medical Center, managing a 72,000-patient visit ambulatory care service.  He served as chief of emergency medicine at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  After leaving the Army, he chaired the Department of Community Health and Ambulatory Care at the District of Columbia General Hospital.  Later, he was promoted to Acting Commissioner for Public Health for the District of Columbia and directed one of the busiest ambulance services in the nation as interim director of the Emergency Ambulatory Bureau of the District of Columbia Fire Department. 

Prior to joining APHA, Dr. Benjamin was the chief executive of the state of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, a cabinet level agency.  He played a key role in developing Maryland’s bioterrorism plan.  He also held the position of the institution’s deputy secretary for public health services, overseeing the expansion and improvement in the state’s Medicaid program.

Benjamin is a member of the Institute of Medicine and serves on the boards of Research America, Partnership for Prevention, and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.