Former Massachusetts public health commissioner, Monica Bharel is a physician, public servant, teacher, and health equity advocate.

A cabinet-level senior advisor to Mayor Michelle Wu, Bharel is responsible for overseeing Boston’s efforts to confront the intersecting humanitarian crises of homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues. As a state public health official, she helped lead responses to emergencies including COVID-19, the opioid epidemic, and vaping-associated lung injuries. Previously she was chief medical officer of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.

An associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine, Bharel previously held appointments at Harvard Medical School  and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she was on the advisory board for the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy. She has been a staff physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center.

She has received honors including the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers’ Public Service Award for leadership in reducing health disparities, the Women for Whittier Award for efforts on behalf of Boston’s most vulnerable women and families, and the Vision Award of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

“My life’s mission is to work toward fairness and equity in health. As a senior leader in health care, public health, and government, I have had the experience of leading a large staff of diverse individuals through complex change management. I hope to help Harvard innovate and lead at this moment in history when our institutions, programs, and teaching are all undergoing transformative change.”