Sami Jarrah, MPH

Sami Jarrah, BCHC’s Board Treasurer, is the Vice Dean for Finance and Administration and Executive Director for Public Partnerships for the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. At Columbia, Jarrah directs the school’s compliance, facilities, finance, information technology, and human resources functions. He also provides leadership for developing and deepening mutually beneficial partnerships between Columbia and the public sector at all levels. 

Prior to joining Columbia University, Jarrah spent his career serving the public’s health, including as Deputy Health Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In this role, Jarrah oversaw a budget of $3 billion and a staff of 300 in the nation’s largest municipal health department. The agency’s staff of 7,000 protected and promoted the health of 8.8 million New Yorkers every day.  

Before his work in New York City, Jarrah served for five years as Deputy Health Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In Philadelphia, Jarrah helped to grow the health department’s budget, which enabled new programs focused on asthma inequities, injury and violence prevention, racial and ethnic health disparities, and healthcare access.  

Prior to 2016, Jarrah served for five years as Deputy Director for Integrated Clinical Services at the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon, where he led efforts to help transform Oregon’s Medicaid program, expanded services at school-based health centers, improved behavioral health services for inmate and youth detention populations, and strengthened the agency’s finance and project management capacity.  

Earlier in his career, Jarrah worked at universities and in corporate, foundation, and government relations. He has led policy efforts and coalitions focused on preemption, gun violence, public health workforce, and federal and state funding for local public health. Jarrah earned an MPH from University of Washington and a BA from Davidson College.