Alister Martin
Alister Martin, MD, MPP | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene | |
| Assumed office January 31, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Michelle E. Morse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) Harvard Kennedy School (MPP) Harvard Medical School (MD) |
| Occupation | Physician, public health advocate |
| Known for | CEO and Founder of A Healthier Democracy, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School |
Alister Martin, MD, MPP is an American physician and public health advocate who serves as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, appointed by Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani in January 2026.[1][2][3][4] He is an Emergency Medicine physician, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and the founder of several civic health initiatives, including Vot-ER, a nonpartisan voter registration program based in healthcare settings.[5]
Early life and Education
Martin was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, and raised by his mother, a Haitian immigrant.[6][7] Martin has also indicated he grew up in Neptune, New Jersey.[8] Martin was dismissed from his high school due to being involved in an off-campus fight before enrolling in Bollettieri Tennis Academy and obtaining his GED.[9][10]
Martin graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University, where he was a Division I tennis player.[11] He earned his Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership.[12] Martin received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Harvard Medical School in 2015 as a Presidential Scholar.[12][13]
Medical Career
Martin completed his residency in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, part of the Harvard-Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency program, from 2015 to 2019.[14] He served as Chief Resident.[15][16]
As a practicing emergency department physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Martin is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and research faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School Behavioral Insights Group.[17] He is also faculty at the MGH Center for Social Justice and Health Equity.[15]
Public Health Initiatives
Vot-ER
In response to low voter registration rates in vulnerable communities, Martin founded Vot-ER, a nonpartisan voter registration initiative that operates in healthcare settings.[17][18][19][20][21] The program has organized over 50,000 healthcare workers across all 50 states and more than 700 hospitals and clinical sites to help patients register to vote.[22][23][24] Healthcare providers participating in the program wear lanyards with QR codes that direct patients to their state's voter registration website. Vot-ER has also created networks to help patients vote from hospital beds via emergency absentee ballots.[25]
Get Waivered
Martin founded Get Waivered, a campaign aimed at transforming emergency departments into access points for addiction recovery services.[15][26] The program helps emergency department physicians obtain DEA waivers (prior to the elimination of the waiver requirement) and establishes processes to prescribe buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder.[15][27][28]
GOTVax
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin co-founded GOTVax, an initiative that delivered vaccines directly to vulnerable and underserved communities through targeted mobile vaccine clinics.[22][29][30] The program applied get-out-the-vote organizing principles to public health outreach.[17][31]
A Healthier Democracy
Martin serves as CEO of A Healthier Democracy, a nonprofit healthcare organizing incubator based at Northeastern University's Burnes Center for Social Change, where he is a Senior Fellow.[32][33] The organization develops programs at the intersection of healthcare and civic engagement to serve vulnerable populations.[22]
Link Health
Martin founded Link Health, a nonprofit initiative that operates under A Healthier Democracy and connects vulnerable individuals with federal benefit programs through healthcare based enrollment strategies.[34][35][36][37] The organization uses in-person and digital methods to streamline access to resources such as the Lifeline program, SNAP, LIHEAP, and other assistance programs.[38][39][40] The program employs community health workers and patient navigators who screen patients during their visits to community health centers.[41][42]
Government Service
Prior to his appointment as NYC Health Commissioner, Martin served in several government roles. In 2013, he worked as a Health Policy Aide to Governor Peter Shumlin of Vermont during the state's exploration of a single-payer healthcare system, where he led communications planning for Vermont's proposed "Green Mountain Care" plan.[15] He also served as a health policy aide to Congressman Raul Ruiz of California.[22]
Martin was selected as a White House Fellow for the 2021-2022 class and served as an advisor in the Office of the Vice President under Kamala Harris and in the White House Office of Public Engagement.[43][44][45] While a Fellow in Washington D.C., Martin was credited with rescuing a bystander who was struck by lightening outside the White House.[46]
New York City Health Commissioner
On January 31, 2026, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani appointed Martin as the 45th Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.[47][48] Martin will oversee an agency with more than 7,000 employees and an annual budget of approximately $1.6 billion.[49]
Recognition and Publications
Martin's work has been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times and Scientific American.[22][50][51] His research has been published in medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the British Medical Journal.[21][22][30][40]
Martin was awarded an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship and is an alumnus of the New Leaders Council.[22] He received the Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (DICP) Faculty Fellowship for 2022-2023.[17] In 2025, He was awarded the American Public Health Association's APHA Award for Excellence, which "[r]ecognizes an individual for making a significant and well-recognized contributions to the improvement of community health by utilizing scientific knowledge or innovative organizational strategies."[52]
References
- ↑ "Mayor Mamdani Announces New Appointments, Including Commissioners for Health and Correction". NYC Mayor's Office. January 31, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Healthbeat, Trenton Daniel (2026-02-02). "Mamdani's New Health Commissioner Is an Unexpected Pick". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ D'Ambrosio, Amanda (2026-02-09). "City's health commissioner brings ER experience but lacks public health background". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "POLITICO Pro: Mamdani names Alister Martin new NYC health commissioner". subscriber.politicopro.com. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Dr. Alister Martin, MD, MPP". Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Southall, Ashley (February 2, 2026). "Haitian American Dr. Alister Martin appointed New York City health commissioner". The Haitian Times. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ CORRESPONDENTS, Clair Davis Beverly Julal TRIBUNE (2026-02-07). "Caribbean Currents: NYC's new health chief has Caribbean roots". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Alister Martin". Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Landry, Adaira (2022-12-29). "From Getting Kicked Out of High School to Working in the White House". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Segel, Mimi Wishner; Jones • •, Glenn (2023-06-14). "Tennis saved this doctor's life. He's using his 'second serve' to strengthen democracy". NBC Boston. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Alister Martin – A Healthier Democracy". A Healthier Democracy. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Alister Martin MPP/MD 2015 is an emergency doctor who straddles the worlds of medicine, public health, and social justice". Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Alister S. Martin, M.D., M.P.P. – National Medical Association Professional Development Series". Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Dr. Alister Martin, MD – Boston, MA". Doximity. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 "Dr. Alister Martin, MD, MPP - Department of Emergency Medicine". Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ "bio Alister Martin". NextMed Health: Re-imagining the Future of Health and Medicine. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 "Five Questions With Alister Martin". Harvard Catalyst. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Ruxin, Talia R.; Ha, Yoonhee P.; Grade, Madeline M.; Brown, Rory; Lawrence, Carlton; Martin, Alister F. (2022-01-01). "The Vot-ER Healthy Democracy Campaign: A National Medical Student Competition to Increase Voting Access". Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 97 (1): 89–92. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000004381. ISSN 1938-808X. PMID 34469348 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Raja, Ali S.; Ruxin, Ben (2020-08-06). "There's A New Remedy For The Sick: Voting". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Junior, Jean A.; Ha, Yoonhee P.; Ruxin, Talia R.; Moore, Zonía; Grade, Madeline M.; Stewart, Amanda M.; Murray, Ashlee; Martin, Alister (2023-08-01). "A National Voter Registration Campaign". Pediatrics. 152 (2): e2022059501. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-059501. ISSN 1098-4275. PMID 37465910 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ 21.0 21.1 McCabe, Katherine; Zhu, Yinlu; Bajaj, Simar S.; Martin, Alister F. (2024-06-07). "Increasing Voter Participation Through Health Care-Based Voter Registration". JAMA health forum. 5 (6): e241563. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.1563. ISSN 2689-0186. PMC 11193121 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38904953 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 "Alister Martin – A Healthier Democracy". A Healthier Democracy. May 29, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Bhatia, Alister Martin and Aliya (2024-08-20). "Voter registration in hospitals is the new frontier in health care". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Sibarium, Aaron (2024-08-06). "Meet the Little-Known Activist Group That Has Tens of Thousands of Doctors Registering Patients To Vote". Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Alister Martin MPP/MD 2015 is addressing complex social challenges". Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Bebinger, Martha (2018-03-07). "MGH Becomes 1st Mass. ER To Offer Addiction Medication, Maps Seamless Path To Recovery". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Butler, Kelley; Chavez, Tyler; Wakeman, Sarah; Robertson, Ted; Leifer, Jessica; Barofsky, Jeremy; Kao, Lee-Sien; Lefkowitz, Jaclyn; Dutta, Sayon; Hayes, Bryan; White, Ben; Raja, Ali; Martin, Alister (2022 Jul-Aug 01). "Nudging Emergency Department-Initiated Addiction Treatment". Journal of Addiction Medicine. 16 (4): e234–e239. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000926. ISSN 1935-3227. PMID 34775439 Check
|pmid=value (help). Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ Samuels, Elizabeth A.; Martin, Alister F. (2022-05-02). "Beyond the Waiver: Multilevel Interventions Needed to Expand Buprenorphine Treatment". JAMA network open. 5 (5): e2212425. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.12425. ISSN 2574-3805. PMID 35552731 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Martin, Anson Tong, Cade Herman, David Velasquez & Alister. "Expanding Vaccine Access and Overcoming Hesitancy (SSIR)". ssir.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Velasquez, David; Gondi, Suhas; Lu, Richard; Pissaris, Adam; Martin, Alister (2021-06-30). "GOTVax: A Novel Mobile Covid-19 Vaccine Program". Catalyst non-issue content. 2 (3). doi:10.1056/CAT.21.0174.
- ↑ Martin, David E. Velasquez, LaShyra ‘Lash’ Nolen, Alister. "Mobile Clinics Can Help Reduce Health Inequity". Scientific American. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Mamdani appoints Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Alister Martin". Crain's New York Business. February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Alister Martin starts nonprofits, cares for Boston's most vulnerable". Boston Business Journal. 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Walton, Marie (2025-01-13). "Link Health: Connecting Patients to Essential Resources". Massachusetts General Hospital Giving. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Martin, Alister; Rapa, Annamarie (2025-08-21). "New requirements make it harder for Americans who need help to get it". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Jain, Abhi; Scheinert, Timothy; Marzouk, Sammer; Hammond, Alessandro; Lauterwasser, Steven; Martin, Alister (2025-08-13). "Leveraging Text-Based Outreach to Improve Enrollment in Federal Benefit Programs and Address Broadband Internet Access". ConductScience Journal. 20 (2): 1–11. doi:10.55157/csj.v2i2.1. ISSN 3067-9915.
- ↑ Ward, Karen Holmes (2025-08-31). CityLine: Linking people in need with critical services. Retrieved 2026-02-09 – via www.wcvb.com.
- ↑ "About Link Health". Link Health. 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Barrios, Julissa; Scheinert, Timothy; Johnson, Jessica; Tsai, Austin; Lauterwasser, Steven; Martin, Alister (2025-08-29). "Money as Medicine: Beyond the Monetary Value of Cash Assistance Programs". ConductScience Journal. 21 (3): 1–12. doi:10.55157/csj.v3i1.1. ISSN 3067-9915.
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Marzouk, Sammer; Velasquez, David E.; Joseph, Nicky; Martin, Alister (2023-07-20). "Broadband for better health-ensuring internet access for all". BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 382: 1673. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1673. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 37474205 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Green, Reese Joy Fields; Scheinert, Timothy; Krishnamurthy, Sudarshan; Nyamongo, Nicole; Lauterwasser, Steven; Martin, Alister (2025-03-27). "Removing Barriers to Government Benefits: Link Health's Role in Advancing Health Equity Through Expanded Enrollment". ConductScience Journal. 8 (1): 1–12. doi:10.55157/csj.v1i2.02. ISSN 3067-9915.
- ↑ "Support of health nonprofit benefits patients and future caregivers". Northeastern Global News. 0202. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Alister Martin, ODASIS Alum, named White House Fellow for 2021-2022". Rutgers University. December 8, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Farley, Colleen (2022-11-03). "From the West End to the West Wing". Massachusetts General Hospital Giving. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "A Doctor in the White House". www.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "MD Rushes In After Lightning Strikes People at White House". Medscape. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Daniel, Trenton (February 2, 2026). "Mamdani taps Boston ER doctor to lead NYC health department". Healthbeat. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ News, Mirage. "Mayor Mamdani Appoints New Health, Correction Chiefs". Mirage News. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Santana, Christian; Brand, David (January 31, 2026). "Mamdani names Dr. Alister Martin to lead NYC Health Dept". Gothamist. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ↑ Goldberg, Emma (2020-04-17). "When Coronavirus Care Gets Lost in Translation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ Martin, David E. Velasquez, LaShyra ‘Lash’ Nolen, Alister. "Mobile Clinics Can Help Reduce Health Inequity". Scientific American. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
- ↑ "Public Health Awards Reception and Ceremony". www.apha.org. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
External links
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