Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH

Dr. Umair A. Shah is a physician executive and nationally recognized public health leader with more than two decades of experience leading complex health systems and advancing innovation across public health and healthcare. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Jaan Health, the company behind Phamily, a next-gen, AI-enabled, proactive care platform focused on improving access, outcomes, and experience across healthcare.

Most recently, he had the honor of serving as Secretary of Health for Washington State (2020-2025), overseeing a $3 billion agency with more than 3,000 staff serving 8 million people across Washington. Under his leadership, Washington consistently ranked among the nation’s healthiest states and achieved one of the lowest pandemic mortality rates in the country, despite being home to the first confirmed U.S. case.

During his tenure at the Washington State Department of Health, Dr. Shah launched nationally recognized initiatives spanning digital health, data modernization, and public-private collaboration. These included partnerships with Amazon, Costco, the Gates Foundation, Google, Microsoft, and Starbucks; an AWS supported COVID-19 testing and distribution model that outperformed the federal approach by a factor of 20; and the region’s first Health AI Science Summit. Between 2021 and 2023, the agency earned more than 100 national communications and innovation awards, including regional Emmys and the HIMSS Davies Award.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Shah led Harris County Public Health in Texas, serving 5 million residents in the nation’s third largest county. Under his leadership, the department was named Local Health Department of the Year and ranked among the top agencies nationally for innovation. He also served as Chief Medical Officer for two federally qualified health centers in Southeast Texas, where he practiced as a primary care physician. Concurrently, he spent two decades as an emergency physician within Texas Medical Center at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, grounding his leadership in frontline clinical care for our nation’s veterans and in crisis response to hurricanes, infectious disease outbreaks, mass casualty incidents domestically, as well as earthquake response efforts globally.

Following his transition from public service, Dr. Shah founded Rickshaw Health, a consulting and advisory firm focused on health system transformation, population health strategy, innovation, and public-private partnership. Through Rickshaw Health, he has advised governments, health systems, and organizations seeking practical and scalable approaches to modernization and impact.

In 2026, Dr. Shah joined Jaan Health as Chief Medical Officer, bringing his public sector leadership, clinical background, and systems perspective into an AI-enabled, proactive care platform focused on improving access, outcomes, and experience. In this role, he helps guide clinical strategy, care model design, and responsible adoption of technology to connect patients, providers, and communities.

Dr. Shah has held national leadership roles with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; CDC advisory committees; Trust for America’s Health; ASTHO; and NACCHO, where he served as president. His work has included engagements with senior leaders across federal agencies and the White House, testimony before Congress and state legislatures in Texas and Washington, as well as invited participation in global forums and settings, including at Buckingham Palace, and speaking engagements across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. In addition to his numerous recognitions, he is the recipient of the American Public Health Association’s prestigious Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for innovation in public health.

He has held faculty appointments at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center, and currently is faculty at Columbia University. Dr. Shah earned his BA from Vanderbilt University, MD from the University of Toledo, and MPH from UTHealth, and completed an international health policy internship at the World Health Organization in Geneva.

Grounded in his Asian American heritage, Midwestern upbringing, and Texas roots, Dr. Shah’s career reflects a consistent commitment to service, innovation, and building systems that protect and improve lives. He has served in both Republican and Democratic administrations and at every level of government.

Currently based in the Seattle area, he is frequently invited to speak and provide insights at a variety of national and global engagements.