Joxel García is a Puerto Rican physician and a former four-star

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He served as the fourteenth

Assistant Secretary for Health The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who serves as the primary advisor to the secretary of health and human services on matters involving t ...

(ASH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from March 13, 2008, to January 20, 2009. He served as the Director of Health in the District of Columbia. He served as the Executive Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Control and Prevention Platform and Member of the Leadership Team of the MD Anderson Moon Shots program until May 2017 before joining American Express as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer.

Early years and medical preparation

Dr. García was born in

Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

, and raised in

Hatillo, Puerto Rico Hatillo () is a town and municipality located in Puerto Rico's north coast, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Lares and Utuado to the south, Camuy to the west, and Arecibo to the east. According to the 2000 US Census Hatillo is spre ...

. His father was a prominent dairy farmer and his mother a teacher.Global Pulse
He was the oldest boy of five children. He completed his pre-medical studies at the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a Public university, public land-grant university in Mayagüez ...

. He graduated from the

Ponce School of Medicine The Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), formerly Ponce School of Medicine & Health Sciences, is a private, for-profit university in Ponce, Puerto Rico and St. Louis, Missouri. It awards graduate degrees in Medicine (MD), Clinical Psycholog ...

in 1988. He received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

. He did his residency in

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

and

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

at Mount Sinai Hospital in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, after being trained as an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Ponce School of Medicine.

Private practice

When he completed his residency, García opened his private practice at St. Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford. Since then, García served in several appointed positions at Mt. Sinai, St. Francis, and the University of Connecticut Health Center.Puerto Rico Herald
After obtaining his M.D. degree, García served as the Assistant Director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford.

Connecticut's Commissioner of Public Health

From 1999 to 2003, García was Commissioner of Public Health for the state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. During that time, he instituted a

bioterrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents include bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or their toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in mu ...

preparedness program, launched the national smallpox preparation and vaccination plans, and led Connecticut's response to the

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

attack as a model for the United States. He also created health initiatives for disease prevention, and managed improvements in health literacy and economic conditions.

Global public health exposure

From 2003 to 2006, García served as Deputy Director of the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and non ...

(PAHO)/Regional Office Western Hemisphere for the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. As Deputy Director, García was responsible for setting the general direction and strategy of the organization alongside the director and for providing leadership and advice on all policy decisions. He was also responsible for maintaining effective relations between the organization and the governments of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. When appointed to the PAHO position, Secretary of Health Thomas G. Thompson said, "As a leader in his home state of Connecticut and a proud son of Puerto Rico, Dr. Garcia embodies the multilingual, multiethnic face of our hemisphere."

Corporate experience

Prior to becoming Assistant Secretary of Health, García served as the Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Advisor at MAXIMUS Federal Services Inc. There, García oversaw the work of the MAXIMUS' Center for Global Health and was the principal architect of the strategic partnership plan for the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. García led several programs at MAXIMUS including emergency preparedness and disaster relief. Dr. Garcia is a founding member of Aegis Health Analytics and serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Garcia currently serves as the Founder and CEO, Chairman of the Board of Ambitna involved in accelerating therapies and cures. Dr. Garcia is a partner with NL Capital Ventures involved in management and acquisitions of home health care agencies, medical staffing, & assisted living facilities.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health

García was nominated for appointment by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

for the position of Assistant Secretary for Health with the rank of admiral in the

Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHSCC; also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service) is the Uniformed services, uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health S ...

in late 2007. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 14, 2008, becoming the first Puerto Rican to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health. As the Assistant Secretary for Health, García was the primary advisor to the

Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

on matters involving the nation's public health system and health science. He also oversaw the U.S. Public Health Service and its Commissioned Corps for the Secretary of Health. In his position, García's responsibilities included disease prevention, health promotion, public health preparedness, women's and minority health, reduction of health disparities, fight against

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, pandemic influenza planning, and vaccine preventable diseases. García's experience in public health encompassed health care delivery, bioterrorism preparedness, health policy, and international health affairs.

President and Dean of Ponce School of Medicine

On April 1, 2009, García was named President and Dean of the

. On his inaugural speech he said, "All the things I have mentioned here are not dreams but things that I am already working on, things that are happening, and will continue to evolve".'' He feels that Puerto Rico could be a regional medical training center.

Washington, D.C. Department of Health Director and Chief Medical Officer

On August 1, 2012, Garcia was named Washington, D.C. Department of Health Director and Chief Medical Officer. During his tenure, he led the District's efforts to respond to the Ebola outbreak in coordination with the CDC for the region. Under the Executive Office of the Mayor, Garcia led the launch of a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to action in collaboration with Aegis Health Security and 40 commitment members to prevent preventable infant deaths and health disparities.

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Executive Director of the Cancer Control and Prevention Platform

On August 31, 2015, Garcia was named Executive Director of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Cancer Control and Prevention Platform. Dr. Garcia worked with the University of Texas MD Anderson leadership to create a global platform for research, prevention and treatment to establish centers of excellence.

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Deputy Commissioner and Chief Program Officer

On June 21, 2024 Dr. Joxel Garcia has been appointed by Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan as the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Program Officer. His duties include overseeing the Divisions of Disease Control, Environmental Health, Family and Child Health, and Mental Hygiene.

Extracurricular

Dr. García has served on a number of national boards, including the Prevent Cancer Foundation, National Advisory Committee on

Violence against Women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

, National Dialogue on Cancer, the

United States Preventive Services Task Force The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is "an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services". ...

, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Trinity Health Of New England and as the president-elect of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Author of the Guimoland books: the Adventures of Guimo Audi Dr. García is said to have seen his role as Assistant Secretary for Health as an opportunity to enhance the Secretary's efforts to further the mission of

Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

and the health of the nation by building, strengthening and leveraging relationships across the public health community and the US Public Health Service while also improving healthcare for all Americans.