Dr. Atul Nakhasi, MD, MPP most recently served as Director of Science & Policy for the 21st U.S. Surgeon General, the nation's top health official. In this executive role, he led scientific and policy direction, strategy, and core operations including the development of landmark U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisories on firearm violence prevention, tobacco control, loneliness and social isolation, social media and youth mental health, and alcohol and cancer risk. During his tenure, he navigated the federal health ecosystem, building scientific and policy consensus for key health priorities for the Office across the federal administration. He provided national policy leadership, overseeing the Office's policy portfolio, debriefing the U.S. Surgeon General, and managing Congressional briefings, legislative analyses, and evidence-driven policy recommendations for the Office.

Previously, Dr. Nakhasi served as a policy advisor for LA County's Department of Health Services, the nation's second-largest municipal safety-net health system. In this capacity, he led the health system’s policy operations to assess legislative and regulatory proposals that impacted public hospitals and the Medicaid program.

Dr. Nakhasi serves as a practicing primary care doctor in South LA. He attained his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he was named a Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership. He originally hails from the Midwest, born and raised in Iowa.