The National Academy of Medicine has announced the appointment of Gregg S. Margolis, PhD, as the new Director of Health Policy Educational Programs and Fellowships. In this role, Dr. Margolis will lead and direct the NAM’s four national health policy fellowship and scholar programs with a mission of building health policy leadership and expertise for the future: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows; the NAM/American Academy of Nursing/American Nurses Association/American Nurses Foundation Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence; the NAM Fellowship; and the FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellowship. Dr. Margolis succeeds Dr. Marie Michnich, who had served in the role since 2002.
Prior to joining the NAM, Dr. Margolis served as the Director of the Division of Health System Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he led a team of policy experts in formulating, analyzing, and implementing policies to build strong, integrated, and resilient health care systems that are prepared for, able to respond to, and recover quickly from disasters and public health emergencies. Dr. Margolis has served on numerous White House, interagency, and HHS-wide efforts and played instrumental roles in major incidents such as Hurricane Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombing, and outbreaks of fungal meningitis, Ebola, and Zika. Before his federal service, Dr. Margolis was the Associate Director of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, a nonprofit organization that serves as the national Emergency Medical Services (EMS) certification agency.
“The NAM is deeply committed to providing transgenerational leadership development opportunities to cultivate future leaders in the areas of health and medicine,” said Dr. Victor J. Dzau, NAM President. “We are excited to have Dr. Margolis join the NAM leadership team. As an alumnus of the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program, Dr. Margolis understands the essential role that our educational programs play in developing tomorrow’s leaders in health and health policy. His unique academic background, combined with strong legislative and executive branch experience, is ideal for leading these prestigious programs into the future.”
Dr. Margolis has over 20 years of clinical experience as a field paramedic, including 12 years as a flight paramedic. He has held leadership positions and faculty appointments at the University of Pittsburgh and The George Washington University. He has also played major roles in numerous education, curriculum development, and EMS improvement projects at the local, state, and national levels. In 2009-2010, he became the first paramedic to be an RWJF Health Policy Fellow, and served in the Senate and the executive branch during his fellowship.
“Our nation faces enormous health and health care challenges,” said Dr. Margolis. “Creative and innovative educational programs that expand health policy expertise will help develop the health care leadership necessary to address these challenges and improve the health of the nation. I am excited to be part of the National Academy of Medicine’s team and for the opportunity to lead these essential programs.”
Dr. Margolis holds a PhD in administrative and policy studies and an MS in health care supervision and management from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Margolis is the author of dozens of publications in a wide array of topics in emergency medicine and health policy.
