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.
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).
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”.
Board of Health Members
Members appear in alphabetical order by last name
Dr. Darlene C. Beck
Dr. Darlene C. Beck, originally born in Chicago, IL, relocated to Milwaukee, WI in 1998. Dr. Beck is a proud graduate and alumni of Milwaukee Area Technical College. She earned her Licensed Practical Nursing Diploma in 2004 then returned to earn her Associates Degree in Nursing in 2007. Dr. Beck knew she wanted to further her education in the healthcare field so she attended Concordia University Mequon where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 2010 and then returned to earn her Master’s Degree in Nursing in 2015. Dr. Beck has been a part of many community organizations that have a mission to improve the health and education of the community it serves. Being a leader in her field, she knew that furthering her education was important to foster change and break down barriers at the highest level of her profession. In 2020, Dr. Beck earned her Doctoral Degree in Clinical Practice from the University of Alabama. Dr. Beck currently works as a Nursing Educator for Milwaukee Area Technical College. She also serves the community as an Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and a Forensic Nurse Examiner. Dr. Beck is community-minded and community focused. She has a unique ability to connect with people and be a connector of people. She has a strong ethic of care for her work/business, and she holds the same standards for the people she serves. Outside of Dr. Beck’s professional roles, she is also a business owner. Dr. Beck founded Setting The Bar, LLC a consulting company on May 30, 2018 and on November 16, 2022 she established Bar Setters, Inc. A non-nonprofit company that serves children that are in and aging out of foster care. Dr. Beck is most passionate about seeing others win in life. Dr. Beck gives her time, financial resources, wisdom and knowledge to help change the narrative within the community to make it a better community in which she proudly serves.
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.
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.
Irum Ziauddin, PA-C, DMSc
Irum Ziauddin serves as a Primary Care/Internal Medicine PA in Milwaukee, delivering patient-centered care to a diverse urban population with a focus on underserved communities. With over 20 years of experience as a Physician Associate, she has practiced across multiple subspecialties within hospital systems throughout the US and has called Milwaukee her home since 2017. Throughout her career, she has championed equitable access to care and the efficient use of healthcare resources to better serve vulnerable populations.
After earning her Masters in Medical Science at Yale University in 2002, Dr Ziauddin completed a Doctorate in Medical Sciences in 2022 with a concentration in health administration. She currently serves as a Lead of Advanced Practice Providers at Ascension Wisconsin and the Regional Director for the Wisconsin Association of PAs, supporting advancement policies that improve healthcare delivery. She also continues to train medical, PA and NP students to support the new generation of health care providers.
A committed community leader, Dr. Ziauddin is an active member of the Milwaukee Rotary Club and the Milwaukee Muslim Civic Alliance, amongst others, promoting service and civic engagement. She utilizes her Lean Six Sigma training to help implement strategies to improve efficiencies and quality in workplace and community organizations. She continues to dedicate her time to advancing health equity and improving outcomes for all Milwaukee residents.