Mayor-Elect Mamdani Reappoints Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason K. Graham

December 29, 2025

Renominated to lead H + H, Dr. Katz led financial turnaround of H+H, steered largest municipal healthcare system through Covid-19

Dr. Graham reappointed as Chief Medical Examiner to continue leadership confronting the opioid crisis

Mayor-Elect Mamdani also reappoints Michael Garner as Chief Business Diversity Officer and Mir Bashar as Chief Administrative Officer

NEW YORK, NY - TODAY, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced that Dr. Mitchell Katz will be renominated to the NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors for reappointment as President and CEO of NYC H+H. Mamdani also announced the reappointment of Dr. Jason K. Graham as Chief Medical Examiner for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Katz's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic kept New Yorkers safe and informed during an unprecedented crisis. Under Mayor-elect Mamdani's administration, Dr. Katz will continue his record of expanding health services and exercising strong fiscal management. Dr. Graham will continue leadership confronting the opioid epidemic, working with city, state, and federal leaders to combat the crisis.

Additionally, Mayor-elect Mamdani announced the reappointment of Michael Garner as Chief Business Diversity Officer for the Mayor's Office of Minority and Women Owned Businesses, and Mir Bashar as Chief Administrative Officer.

"These reappointments reflect my commitment to steady, experienced leadership that delivers real results for New Yorkers," said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. "Dr. Katz led the financial turnaround of NYC H+H, expanded access to more New Yorkers, and steered the nation's largest municipal health system through COVID-19. As Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Graham confronted the opioid epidemic, partnering with leaders across the city, state, and federal level to address the crisis. I'm proud to welcome these dedicated public servants into my administration to continue their work making New York City safer and healthier."

Dr. Katz was first nominated and appointed to lead NYC Health + Hospitals in 2017, and oversees the largest municipal health care system in the United States, with a workforce of more than 40,000 health care professionals across a network of 11 hospitals, 5 skilled nursing facilities, dozens of community health centers, a home care agency and an insurance plan, MetroPlusHealth. During his tenure, Dr. Katz has expanded access to health care services, including the creation of NYC Care, a universal health access program for uninsured New Yorkers serving more than 100,000 members. Dr. Katz oversaw the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided strategic guidance to the City, while directing the public health system's response to the surge of patients that peaked to a maximum of 3,700 patients.

Dr. Jason K. Graham, appointed as Chief Medical Examiner in 2022, oversees investigations into deaths in New York City, operating the largest public DNA laboratory in the nation. Graham is a veteran of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, serving as the Acting Chief Medical Examiner and First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner since 2013. He joined the office with a particular focus on the investigation of overdose fatalities, leading the OCME's response - and partnerships with local, state, and federal partners - to the opioid epidemic. Dr. Graham established the OCME Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group in 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the city's RxStat Overdose Fatality Review Committee led by the OCME since summer 2021.

Michael Garner was reappointed the Chief Business Diversity Officer of the Mayor's Office of Minority and Women Owned Businesses. In 2023, Garner was appointed as the City's first Chief Business Diversity Officer. Garner's new programs have created more than $20 billion in payments to New York State/City Minority and Women-owned Businesses. Previously, Mr. Garner served 14 years as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), with the MTA improving its hiring of Black, Hispanic and Asian staff by 20 percent across the MTA's six different operating agencies. Under Mr. Garner, the MTA's Small Business Mentoring Program awarded 575 contracts totaling $620 million to program participants. Overall, through his efforts, more than $17.1 billion has been paid to New York State certified MWBEs. As Chief Business Diversity Officer under Mayor-elect Mamdani, Garner will address historic disparities in City contracting and provide greater business opportunities for minority and women entrepreneurs with the City.

Mayor-elect Mamdani also reappointed Mir Bashar to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer in the Office of the Mayor. As Chief Administrative Officer, Bashar is responsible for the daily administrative work of City Hall, including finances, budgets and contracts. He has served in this position since 2022; previously, Bashar served as the senior director of budget and financial planning under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
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Dr. Mitchell Katz will be renominated to the NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors for reappointment as President and CEO of NYC H+H. Katz was first appointed in 2017, and oversees the largest municipal health care system in the United States, with a workforce of more than 40,000 health care professionals across a network of 11 hospitals, 5 skilled nursing facilities, dozens of community health centers, a home care agency and an insurance plan, MetroPlusHealth. During his tenure, Katz has expanded access to health care services, including the creation of NYC Care, a universal health access program for uninsured New Yorkers serving more than 100,000 members. Dr. Katz oversaw the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided strategic guidance to the City, while directing the public health system's response to the surge of patients that peaked to a maximum of 3,700 patients. Under Dr. Katz's leadership, NYC Health + Hospitals has provided more than 18,000 vaccinations to fight the Mpox outbreak, and has provided food, shelter and supportive services to more than 20,000 asylum seekers.

Previously, Dr. Katz was the Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) - the second largest public safety net system in the United States - where he created the ambulatory care network and eliminated the deficit of DHS. Dr. Katz also served as the Director and Health Officer of the San Francisco Department of Health for 13 years, where he funded the City's needle exchange program, created Health San Francisco, and outlawed the sale of Tobacco at pharmacies.

He is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Medical School. He completed an internal medicine residency at UCSF Medical School and was an RWJ Clinical Scholar. Dr. Katz practices as a primary care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Dr. Jason K. Graham will be reappointed as Chief Medical Examiner to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Jason K. Graham, appointed in 2022, oversees investigations into deaths in New York City, operating the largest public DNA laboratory in the nation. Graham is a veteran of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, serving as the Acting Chief Medical Examiner and First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner since 2013. He joined the office with a particular focus on the investigation of overdose fatalities and led the OCME's response to that crisis, partnering with local, state, and federal partners to address the opioid epidemic. Dr. Graham established the OCME Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group in 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the city's RxStat Overdose Fatality Review Committee led by the OCME since summer 2021.

Dr. Graham graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Graham is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in both anatomic and forensic pathology. He holds faculty appointment currently as Chair for the Department of Forensic Medicine at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

Michael Garner will be reappointed as the Chief Business Diversity Officer of the Mayor's Office of Minority and Women Owned Businesses. In 2023, Garner was appointed as the City's first Chief Business Diversity Officer. Garner's new programs have created more than $20 billion in payments to New York State/City Minority and Women-owned Businesses. Previously, Mr. Garner served 14 years as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), with the MTA improving its hiring of Black, Hispanic and Asian staff by 20 percent across the MTA's six different operating agencies. Under Mr. Garner, the MTA's Small Business Mentoring Program awarded 575 contracts totaling $620 million to program participants. Overall, through his efforts, more than $17.1 billion has been paid to New York State certified MWBEs. As Chief Business Diversity Officer under Mayor-elect Mamdani, Garner will address historic disparities in City contracting and provide greater business opportunities for minority and women entrepreneurs with the City.

Mir Bashar will be reappointed as the Chief Administrative Officer. As Chief Administrative Officer, Bashar is responsible for the daily administrative work of City Hall, including finances, budgets and contracts. He has served in this position since 2022; previously, Bashar served as the senior director of budget and financial planning under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Bashar graduated with a Master of Public Administration focused on Public Administration from Long Island University.