By sustaining its commitment to support healthy individuals and families in healthful communities, the California Department of Public Health recognizes the need to transform as public health advances and society evolves. We have an ever-changing health care system, and technology is dramatically advancing business processes. At the same time, public health leaders are increasingly asked to look at how factors such as employment, the environment, discrimination and inequality, and access to education impact health outcomes.

CDPH launched the Public Health 2035 initiative to create a public health department that can and will adapt to this ever-changing landscape. Public Health 2035 builds a path for CDPH’s ultimate transformation into the ideal public health department, driving greater quality of life and better health outcomes across all communities. The Department’s vision is to be a transparent, evolving and data-driven organization that provides leading edge public health knowledge and services to all Californians.

In adopting Public Health 2035, CDPH has committed to being a change leader in government, and is also engaging communities in identifying their own health priorities and developing practical plans to achieve locally sustainable improvements in health.

The CDPH mission to protect the health and wellbeing of the people and communities in California will not change, but there is no doubt the state’s public health department will look different years from now. With a focus on the future, CDPH is beginning its transformation into a continuously improving, agile organization that adapts to a growing science of public health and California’s dynamic environment to continue our long history of public health successes.​

Director and State Public Health Officer Tomás J. Aragón , M.D., Dr. P.H. of the California Department of Public Health has served since Jan. 4, 2021. Prior to coming to CDPH, he was the health officer for the city and county of San Francisco and director of the public health division. Aragón has served in public health leadership roles for more than 20 years (communicable disease controller, deputy health officer, health officer, community health and chronic disease epidemiologist), including directing a public health emergency preparedness and response research and training center at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. Aragón graduated from University of California, Berkeley (B.A., Molecular Biology; Dr.P.H., Epidemiology), Harvard Medical School (M.D.), Harvard School of Public Health (M.P.H.), and Stanford University (certification in Strategic Decision and Risk Management in Healthcare). He completed his clinical and research training at University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco General Hospital Primary Care Internal Medicine; Clinical Infectious Diseases; and Traineeship in AIDS Prevention Studies).​