Wolf announces nominations for Secretary of Health, appoints Acting Physician General

Gov. Tom Wolf will nominate his deputy chief of staff to lead the state Department of Health, taking the place of Dr. Rachel Levine, who was tapped earlier this week by President Joe Biden as his assistant secretary of health.

Alison Beam, 34, will take over as Acting Secretary of Health on Saturday. The position has become much more visible during the coronavirus pandemic, with Levine becoming the face of the crisis in Pennsylvania.

“Alison knows that a strong, widely available and successful vaccination strategy is the path out of the pains of this pandemic,” Wolf said

In her role as Wolf’s deputy chief of staff, Beam helped to coordinate a number of initiatives across the administration, from the rollout of Pennie, the state’s health insurance marketplace, to work with the departments of Human Services and Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Wolf called Beam a talented public servant who will bring to the position years of work in the health care policy field. She’s a graduate of Drexel University School of Law and also has a degree in health policy and administration from Penn State University.

Dan Filler, dean of Drexel’s Kline School of Law, called Beam’s nomination “a significant landmark in our history.

“We understand this role at this moment in history is a hugely important job, and million of people are counting on Ally’s work,” Filler said.

He said those at the school are proud, but not shocked.

“She was a superstar with a focus on health law when she was a student,” he said.

Prior to becoming Wolf’s deputy chief of staff, she served as the chief of staff to Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman.

Altman called Beam “one of the smartest, most capable and hardest working individuals” she’s worked with.

Wolf also announced on Friday he has named Dr. Wendy Braund as Interim Acting Physician General, a role also previously held by Levine.

Braund currently serves as the state’s covid-19 response director in the Department of Health, and she previously led the Center for Public Health Practice at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She was also the associate dean for practice and a professor of health policy.

Before she worked at Pitt, she was Wyoming’s State Health Office and and the Public Health Division Administrator for the state Department of Health. She also worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services in several roles.

She begins her role as Acting Physician General on Saturday.