Board of Health (BOH)

In 2019, the City of Milwaukee reestablished it's Board of Health. The nine member governing board is responsible for advising the department on priorities, taking public stances on public health policy issues, and being champions for public health in Milwaukee. 

Interested in joining the City of Milwaukee Board of Health?

A member of the Board of Health helps to form a nine person board that helps the Milwaukee Health Department achieve its goals laid out in the strategic plan in conjunction with duties required by law of a Level III Health Department. The BOH meets every other month, in-person. The board must have at least one Doctor of Medicine (MD) and one nurse, in addition to community members that reside in the city of Milwaukee. Interested parties should have basic public health knowledge and a passion for improving the public health delivery system.

Submit an Application to Join the BOH

Board of Health Leadership

Wujie Zhang, PhD, Board Chair 

Dr. Wujie Zhang is a Biomedical and Food Engineer and a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). His research encompasses biomaterials, tissue engineering, drug delivery, cancer treatment, and food engineering. He has published over 45 peer-reviewed journal articles and authored three books.

Dr. Zhang is a passionate advocate for health equity, with a particular focus on LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized populations. His leadership and contributions to his field have earned him numerous accolades, including being featured by ASEE's Prism magazine as one of 20 high-achieving researchers and educators under 40 (2018), inclusion in the Milwaukee Business Journal's 40 Under 40 list (2019), MSOE’s Diversity and Inclusion Advocate Award (2020), and recognition as one of Wisconsin's 34 Most Influential Asian American Leaders (2021).

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Tahira Malik, Vice Chair

Tahira Malik is the founder of Samad's House, a sober living facility for women and women with children. Tahira felt compelled to open a healing space for women to recover after living in addiction for 15 years.

Ms. Tahira Malik graduated from Alverno College in May 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her Major was Social Sciences with a Pre-law focus, minoring in Psychology and Professional Communications. After graduating from Alverno, she began working for the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee as a Facilitator for the Academy of Excellence, a job readiness program for participants of the Wisconsin Works Program. She was also employed by The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee as a Program Director for the Sponsor-A-Scholar program, and Black Achievers/Teen Achievers Program. After leaving The YMCA, she was employed as an educator for Agape Educational School. During her time as an educator, she became addicted to prescription pain pills due to a car accident and surgery. Due to her addiction, her life began to spiral downward thus leading to incarceration. Incarceration forced her into sobriety and assisted her in making some profound changes in her life. It took being confined behind bars to realize that her purpose was to assist women on their road to recovery.

Tahira says that it was during her incarceration that she decided to dedicate her life to helping people who live in addiction to become sober. More particularly, people who have an addiction to opioids. “I am familiar with the damage that opioids cause on one's life, and felt compelled to bring change to my community, thus the formation of Samad's House”.

Tahira shares with the women of Samad’s House that no storm lasts forever, and the motto in life is, “ And This Too Shall Pass”.

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Board of Health Members

Ruthie Burich-Weatherly

Ruthie Burich-Weatherly is a Public Health Consultant and the BESTD Clinic Manager in Milwaukee, WI. Ruthie focuses on infectious disease prevention, education, testing and referral. She started her career as a member of the Peace Corps and since then has worked for a variety of HIV/AIDS centered organizations such as Minnesota AIDS Project, AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (Vivent), and the Milwaukee Health Department Keenan Health Center.

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Caroline Gómez-Tom​​​​​​
Enrollment Network and Accessibility Manager at Covering Wisconsin, Gomez-Tom’s work focused on benefits enrollment and health care access and was a critical part of Milwaukee winning the 2015 Healthy Cities Challenge by enrolling over 38,000 individuals in health coverage.

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Ian B. K. Martin,  M.D., M.B.A., FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ian Martin is System Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. At the Medical School, he holds appointments as Professor with Tenure of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. Dr. Martin is also Emergency Physician-in-Chief of the Froedtert (FRAYD-tert) and Medical College of Wisconsin Health System. Before this, he served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown.

Dr. Martin earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University. He earned his Doctorate of Medicine degree from Medical College of Pennsylvania–Hahnemann School of Medicine (now Drexel University College of Medicine) and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. Dr. Martin trained in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center and R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore—where he also served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Martin has devoted his academic career to improving the delivery of emergency care globally—with emphasis on East Africa—through program development, investigative research, and direct clinical care.

Dr. Martin’s research interests include elucidation of optimal models for Emergency Department-based HIV and hepatitis C testing and acute care disease burden epidemiology in developing countries. His research and other Global Health-related initiatives have culminated in a host of publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Martin has garnered grant support for his research from federal and state agencies, industry, and academic institutions.

Recognized for his leadership, Dr. Martin completed a term as President of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)—the premier association representing researchers and educators in Emergency Medicine. Before that, he completed a one-year term each as President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. Dr. Martin is also the founder and a Past-President of SAEM’s Global Emergency Medicine Academy. In 2020, Dr. Martin was appointed by the Mayor of Milwaukee to the City of Milwaukee Board of Health for an indefinite term. He is the 2018 recipient of the Marcus L. Martin, M.D. Leadership Award—a prestigious award given by SAEM’s Academy of Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Martin was recently named recipient of the 2020 Drexel University College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award as well as of the 2020 Georges Benjamin, M.D. Award for excellence in education, service, and research by the National Medical Association’s Emergency Medicine Section.

Dr. Martin is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.

Ericka Sinclair
Founder and CEO of Health Connections Inc. Ericka’s nearly 20 years in public health includes laboratory research; training patients and providers to navigate healthcare systems; managing clinical care - especially primary care for vulnerable populations including transgender clients - as well as disease prevention and interventions.

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Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, 8th District

JoCasta Zamarripa was born and raised in Milwaukee, graduated from St. Joan Antida High School, and holds a bachelor’s degree from UW-Milwaukee. Throughout her career, JoCasta has been a dedicated community activist working to better the lives of others by creating positive change. She previously worked as a Community Outreach Coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and was active in the 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women. She has also held board positions with 9 to 5 Milwaukee and Equality Wisconsin and currently serves on the boards of Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Emerge Wisconsin.

JoCasta’s public service career began in 2010 when she made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the Wisconsin State Legislature. She served in the Legislature for five terms before making history once again in 2020 by becoming the first Latina and the first openly LGBTQ member of Milwaukee’s Common Council.

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Penelope Stewart

Penelope Stewart, a native Milwaukeean who is known for being active in the community comes from a family heritage filled with individuals who have made an impact on Milwaukee’s community in the areas of politics, religion, and business.

Penelope, a seasoned marketing, and outreach professional, retired as the Director of Marketing for Outreach Community Health Centers in July 2023. She previously worked as an Outreach Coordinator for Ascension Wisconsin, Community Outreach Manager for the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, and General Sales Manager for 1290 WMCS Radio Station. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mount Mary College.