Dr. Rachel Levine '75 Chosen as President Biden's Assistant Secretary for Health

Dr. Rachel Levine '75 is President Joe Biden's pick to become the next Assistant Secretary of Health. She is currently serving as Pennsylvania Health Secretary and had been widely praised for directing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond," Mr. Biden said in a statement. "She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.” Dr. Levine would be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Levine visited Belmont Hill in 2016 and gave a powerful talk in Chapel that was greeted with a rousing standing ovation. In her talk, entitled "Eye of the Hurricane," she metaphorically used the hurricane to describe the world we live in, with so much going on around us at such a fast pace. "Being in the eye of the hurricane means that you will be calm and centered," Dr. Levine explained. "Not only calm and centered...but uniquely who you are. You want to be comfortable in your own skin...comfortable in your actions."