Mark Levine, MD, Vermont Health CommissionerMark Levine, MD • Commissioner of Health

Dr. Mark Levine was appointed commissioner of health by Governor Phil Scott and began service on March 6, 2017.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Levine was a professor of medicine at the University of Vermont – a position he still holds, associate dean for graduate medical education, and designated institutional official at the College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center. He also served as vice chair for education in the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Levine received his B.A. in biology from the University of Connecticut and M.D. from the University of Rochester. He completed his internal medicine residency and chief resident year at the University of Vermont, and a fellowship in general internal medicine at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Levine’s general internal medicine practice focused on health promotion and disease prevention, preventative health screening and clinical nutrition, chronic disease management, and solving complex diagnostic dilemmas.

With this experience, Dr. Levine understands the challenges our health care system holds for both patients and physicians. This informs his interest in improving public health through policies that foster a culture of health.

Dr. Levine has served on the American College of Physicians Board of Regents, and as governor of its Vermont chapter; as vice president and president-elect of the Vermont Medical Society; and was a longstanding member of the Vermont Department of Health’s Primary Care-Public Health Integration Workgroup. He successfully directed large NIH and HRSA educational grants related to nutrition-preventive medicine competencies for general physicians. 

Vermont Health Commissioners 1890 - 2016

Health Commissioner

2011 - 2017 • Harry Chen, MD

2008 - 2011 • Wendy Davis, MD

2006 - 2008 • Sharon Moffatt, RN, BSN, MSN

2003 - 2006 • Paul Jarris, MD, MBA

1989 - 2003 • Jan Carney, MD, MPH

1982 - 1989 • Roberta Coffin, MD

1978 - 1982 • Lloyd Novick, MD, MPH

1976 - 1978 • Marshall McBean, MSc, MD

1973 - 1976 • Anthony Robbins, MD, MPA

1949 - 1973 • Robert Aiken, MD, MPH

Board of Health Secretary

1946 - 1949 • Robert Aiken, MD, MPH 

1918 - 1946 • Charles Dalton, MD 

1890 - 1918 • Charles Caverly, MD 

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Kelly Dougherty • Deputy Health Commissioner

Kelly Dougherty was appointed deputy commissioner in February 2019.

Dougherty has extensive experience in the public health, health care and social service fields through professional roles in hospitals, state government and non-profit organizations. She holds masters’ degrees in social work and in public health, both from the University of Pittsburgh. In her graduate studies, her focus was on social policy, administration and maternal and child health.

Prior to her appointment, Dougherty served as executive director of Steps to End Domestic Violence, a prevention and advocacy organization dedicated to helping those who have been affected by domestic violence achieve safety and independence.

Her appointment marks a return to the Vermont Department of Health, where she served from 2000 to 2008 in various roles in Local Health as well as with the Blueprint for Health.

 

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Julie Arel • Deputy Health Commissioner

Julie Arel was appointed deputy commissioner in July of 2022.

Arel served for eight years as director of the Health Department’s Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She also was the section chief managing the operational aspects of the department’s COVID-19 pandemic emergency response.

Before joining the department, Deputy Commissioner Arel had been the executive director for Open Door Clinic in Middlebury, Parent to Parent of Vermont and Vermont Family Network, and the New England Rural Health Roundtable. She is a graduate of Smith College and earned Masters’ degrees in social work and in public health from Boston University.

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