Hartford’s former health and human services director Raul Pino will temporarily lead the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH), effective Monday, while the governor continues his search for a permanent successor.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that Pino, who is the state agency’s deputy commissioner, will serve until a successor to former commissioner Jewel Mullen is found sometime early next year.
Mullen announced her resignation in November, to take a job early in the new year with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Dr. Pino is very well respected within Connecticut’s public health community, and I want to thank him for taking on this responsibility,” Malloy said in a statement.
Before his city post, Pino was an epidemiologist for DPH and worked at the Institute for Community Research, Hispanic Health Council, and Hartford Hospital.
He is a member of the American Public Health Association and National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. He earned his medical degree at the University of Havana, and a masters in public health from the UConn School of Medicine.
