Article by Morgan Benson & Katherine Korey, CWIP Communications Committee Members
While most of us have rarely known the names of past state public health directors, Dr. Ngozi Ezike has become a household name that Illinoians have come to rely on. While the COVID-19 pandemic is of course part of the reason we all know Dr. Ezike’s name, it has been her steadfast leadership, calm demeanor, and ability to explain complicated and quickly-changing concepts with professionalism and compassion that has inspired and captivated many of us.
Dr. Ezike is a board-certified internist and pediatrician. She chose these dual specialties in medical school because she “wanted to be able to take care of so many kinds of people, so many kinds of issues, and to know a lot about many different things.” Clearly, these skills have served her well as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Dr. Ezike’s commitment to public health is evident from her impressive resume—delivering inpatient care at Stroger Hospital and primary and preventive care in community and school-based clinics. She also served as Austin Health Center’s medical director, where she actively engaged with the community on a variety of health initiatives involving obesity, diabetes, and breastfeeding.
In addition to being a capable and compassionate public health official, Dr. Ezike is a nationally recognized expert in healthcare within the juvenile detention and justice systems. She worked for the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) for more than 15 years, where she served as the medical director at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. She was instrumental in creating and implementing the facility's health policies. As part of Healthy JTDC 2020, she partnered with for-profit and non-profit organizations to sponsor the center’s first running program which culminated in a 3K/5K run event for the detained youth.
In 2019, Dr. Ngozi Ezike was appointed as the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the first Black woman appointed to lead the 143-year old state agency. In this role, Dr. Ezike has been at the forefront of Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With her calm and reassuring presence, Dr. Ezike has provided Illinoisans trustworthy information and encouragement during press conferences, briefings and on social media. She seems to always be ready to answer questions from officials, reporters, and ordinary Chicagoans.
Ezike has brought all of her roles—public health leader, physician, mother, and woman of faith—to her work leading Illinois through this crisis. Transparency, vulnerability, and authenticity are at the core of her leadership style. “When I’m talking to my team, I will come out there first and say, I’m stressed, I’m completely overwhelmed, I’m seeking help,” she said. “We have to prioritize ourselves so that we have something left to give others.”
Ezike believes strongly in continuing to create opportunities for the next generation of women leaders. “We have to make sure that we are keeping open the doors that we came through so that other women leaders can come behind,” she says. “That we are sweeping up the shards of glass from the ceilings that we’ve broken.”
A graduate of Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, she is a Certified Correctional Health Professional and Diplomate of both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Rush Medical College.
She has received numerous awards, including the 2020 Lester H. McKeever Individual Service Award from the Chicago Urban League and the Health Innovator Award from Erie Family Health Center in Chicago. Chicago Magazine named her as one of 2020’s Chicagoans of the Year.
As a strong advocate of self-care and maintaining work-life balance, particularly in challenging times, Dr. Ezike is an avid tennis player and reader. She is fluent in Spanish, French, Swahili and is learning Portuguese.
Join us on Thursday, June 3 at 8:30am to learn more about Dr. Ezike in her own words in conversation with 2021 Honorary Chair Dr. Una Osili, Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy & Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (also Dr. Ezike's college roommate at Harvard!). Tickets are available here.