SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced a new California-led public health initiative, tapping former officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who publicly clashed with the Trump administration, including a former agency chief who warned the country's public health system is heading to a “very dangerous place.”
Newsom said the initiative will be led by Dr. Susan Monares, former CDC director, and Dr. Debra Khoury, former CDC chief medical officer. The pair will lead the Public Health Network for Innovation Exchange (PHNIX), which the governor's office says will “modernize public health infrastructure and support trust in science-based decision making.”
The initiative was created to improve systems that identify and research public health trends and to create a modern public health framework that connects data, technology and funding across states.
“The Public Health Innovation Sharing Network is expected to bring together the best science, the best tools and the best minds to advance public health,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “By bringing seasoned scientific leaders to this launch, we are strengthening collaboration and laying the foundation for a modern public health infrastructure that will ensure trust and stability of scientific evidence not only in California, but nationally and globally.”
Monares will serve as a strategic health technology and funding advisor for the initiative, helping to develop partnerships with the private sector to better integrate health data systems and enable faster disease surveillance. The hiring was first reported by The New York Times.
“I am thrilled to bring my expertise in health technology and innovation to support PHNIX,” Monares said in a statement released by Newsom’s office. “California has an extraordinary concentration of talent, technology and investment, and these efforts are focused on leveraging these strengths for public benefit—modernizing public health, accelerating innovation, and building a healthier, more resilient future for all Californians.”
Khoury has been named Senior Regional and Global Medical Advisor for Public Health at PHNIX. Newsom's office also announced it will be working with Dr. Caitlin Jetelina, founder and executive director of Your Local Epidemiologist. Jetelina will advise the California Department of Public Health on how to build trust in public health.
Monares and Uri described extreme disorder within national health agencies during a congressional hearing, telling senators in September that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and political advisers had rejected data showing the vaccines were safe and effective. Monares was fired after just 29 days on the job. She said Kennedy advised her to resign if she did not sign off on the new unverified vaccine guidelines. Kennedy described Monares as admitting to him that she was “untrustworthy,” a claim Monares denied through her lawyer.
“Dramatic and unwarranted changes in federal policy, funding and scientific practice have created uncertainty and instability in public health and health care,” Dr. Erica Pan, CDPH director and state public health officer, said in a statement. “I'm excited to work with these advisors to accelerate our efforts to create a sustainable future for public health. California is stepping up efforts to coordinate and build the scaffolding we need to navigate this moment.”
Salaries for the new positions were not immediately known.
Newsom's office said the California initiative will build on previously announced public health partnerships such as West Coast Health Alliance.
