The Office of the Health Commissioner sets policy and provides leadership for the Department of Public Health. We work closely with other human service providers in Philadelphia to assure high-quality healthcare services for all.
Health Commissioner and Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity
Donald F. Schwarz, MD, MPH, is Health Commissioner and Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity for the City of Philadelphia. Before entering government service, he was Vice Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Craig-Dalsimer Division Chief for Adolescent Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He was Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Pennsylvania Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics at Penn.
Dr. Schwarz was an active researcher in the area of adolescent risk behaviors for over 22 years. He received both public and private funding for work that examined the issues of injury and its prevention in urban, minority communities, public policy approaches to adolescent violence, and physician- and nurse-practice-based interventions to improve outcomes for high-risk infants.
Nan Feyler
Chief of Staff
Nan Feyler, JD, MPH, has been the Chief of Staff for the Department of Public Health since February 2008. In this position, she manages departmental divisions addressing: maternal and child health; chronic disease prevention; childhood lead poisoning prevention; disease surveillance and control; environmental management services, and air quality management. Nan manages a network of eight community-based healthcare centers and the City's public health lab. She advises the Deputy Mayor/Commissioner on a broad range of policy issues.
Nan's previous positions include: Executive Director of the Nationalities Services Center, Executive Director of the AIDS Law Project, and private consulting about healthcare access. Nan received her education from the New College of the University of South Florida, New York University School of Law, and Columbia University. Nan received bar admission to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1989 and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1991. She has taught at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and Bryn Mawr College.
Carmen Lemmo
Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration
Carmen Lemmo is Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In this position, he oversees a complex budget of approximately $361 million (FY '11) for the Department’s ten operating divisions. Carmen began his City career in 1975, working in the Managing Director’s Office (MDO) performing administrative management duties. In 1989, he left the MDO and began working for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) as an Executive Assistant. In 1994, Carmen was promoted to the position of Fiscal Administrator for the PDPH. He held that position until 1999 when he was appointed Deputy Commissioner. Carmen received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from Penn State University in 1974.
Giridhar Mallya
Director of Policy and Planning
Giridhar Mallya, MD, MHSP, has been the Director of Policy and Planning for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health since October 2008. In this position, Dr. Mallya helps to define public health priorities for the City, coordinates the Department’s research and data analysis activities, and works with key leadership—including the Board of Health and the Air Pollution Control Board—to set policies and develop regulations. He is also the Primary Investigator for Philadelphia’s CDC-funded Communities Putting Prevention to Work Tobacco Policy & Control and Nutrition & Physical Activity initiatives.
Dr. Mallya graduated from Brown University Medical School in Providence, RI, and completed a residency in Family and Community Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Following residency, Dr. Mallya was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania where he received a Masters Degree in Health Policy Research.
Kevin Vaughan
Deputy Health Commissioner and Director in the Office of Health and Opportunity
Kevin Vaughan has been a Deputy Health Commissioner since March 2007, and assumed the added role as Director in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity in 2008. He is responsible for the consolidation and coordination of HR Administration for four City departments (Health, Human Services, Behavioral Health, Homeless Services), and is responsible for internal customer service for the department (HR, IT, communications, facilities management, Medical Evaluation Unit and contract compliance for Philadelphia Nursing Home). Kevin advises the Deputy Mayor/Commissioner on a broad range of policy and legislative issues and serves as the Departmental Integrity Officer.
Kevin's previous positions with the City of Philadelphia include: Chief of Staff in the Managing Director’s Office; Associate Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia; Executive Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations; Director of the Fair Housing Commission; and Director of Legislation for the Office of City Councilman Angel Ortiz. Kevin also served as Regional Director for the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, Region III. He received his education from the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.