Alumnus Named 40 Under 40 Leader in Health.
Jirair Ratevosian (’07) has been named a 40 Under 40 Leader in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum.
The award honors the work of influential young minority leaders in healthcare.
Ratevosian is the government affairs director at Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company working on innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need.
After completing his MPH at SPH, Ratevosian worked with the Boston Public Health Commission on a planning council organizing, evaluating, and prioritizing Ryan White HIV funding in the Boston area, and joined Physicians for Human Rights as a national field organizer for the Health Action AIDS Campaign. He then moved to Washington, DC, to become deputy director of public policy at the foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), where he worked to lift national restrictions for syringe access programs and the travel entry ban for individuals living with HIV.
Ratevosian joined the office of US Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) in 2011. As her legislative director, he helped shape implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and was lead staff author of the Health Equity and Accountability Act addressing health disparities in communities of color.
Until leaving for Gilead Sciences in 2014, Ratevosian also worked to start the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, and to help secure federal funding for diseases that disproportionately impact minority communities.
“My BUSPH education, experience, network, and friends are always with me, no matter what public health or social justice issue I’m tackling,” he says. “To be recognized for whatever small role I have played is humbling, especially when working among many tireless advocates and colleagues every step of the way.”
Ratevosian will receive a 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health Award at the National Minority Quality Forum Leadership Summit on Health Disparities on April 12. The NMQF is a research and educational organization dedicated to ensuring high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities receive optimal health care.