Abdul El-Sayed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abdul El-Sayed
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed
October 31, 1984 |
| Education | University of Michigan (BS) Oriel College, Oxford (MA, DPhil) Columbia University (MD) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Jukaku |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Rhodes Scholarship Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship |
Abdul El-Sayed is an American politician and a former public health expert. He was born on October 31, 1984. He has worked to improve health for people in Michigan.
From 2023 to April 2025, he was the director of health services for Wayne County. He also ran for governor of Michigan in 2018. He is known for his work in public health and for being a political writer and podcast host.
El-Sayed is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in the 2026 election.
Contents
His Early Life and School
Abdul El-Sayed was born in the Detroit area. His parents moved to the United States from Egypt. He grew up with his father, Mohamed El-Sayed, and his stepmother, Jacqueline El-Sayed. Both of them are engineers. His mother, Fatten Elkomy, is a nurse.
Abdul went to Bloomfield Hills Andover High School. He played three sports: wrestling, football, and lacrosse. He was a captain in football and lacrosse.
He then went to the University of Michigan. He studied biology and political science. He also played on the men's club lacrosse team. He graduated with high honors. He even gave a speech at his graduation, where former President Bill Clinton was also speaking.
El-Sayed received a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan Medical School. He studied there for two years. During this time, he helped lead a medical trip to Peru. He also started a student group to help a local health clinic.
He later received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oriel College, Oxford in England. There, he earned a special degree in public health in 2011. He was also captain of Oxford's men's lacrosse team. In 2014, he finished his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He did not become a practicing doctor after medical school.
Working in Public Health
Abdul El-Sayed has written many articles and book chapters about public health. These writings focus on health policy and how health differences affect people. His ideas have been shared in major newspapers and news channels.
Public Health Professor
In 2014, El-Sayed became a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He taught about how different systems affect public health. He also led research programs. His research focused on health differences, birth outcomes, and obesity. He even wrote a textbook about public health systems.
Helping Detroit's Health
In August 2015, when he was 30 years old, Abdul El-Sayed became the Health Officer for the City of Detroit. This made him the youngest health officer in a major U.S. city at that time. His job was to rebuild Detroit's Health Department. The city's health services had been managed by a nonprofit group before.
When he started, he had a small office and only five employees. In his first year, he worked to reduce air pollution from a local refinery. He also led efforts to test Detroit schools for lead. This was important after the Flint water crisis. He also helped provide free glasses to children in Detroit schools. He also worked to improve the city's Animal Control department.
Because of his work on lead poisoning, he was asked to join a state board to help reduce lead in children. He also advised state and national health committees. In 2016, he was recognized as one of Detroit's "40 under 40" leaders. He also received an award from the University of Michigan for his achievements.
Leading Health in Wayne County
In December 2022, El-Sayed was chosen to lead the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services for Wayne County. He started this role in March 2023. He left this position in April 2025.
Running for Governor
On February 9, 2017, Abdul El-Sayed announced he would leave his health director job to run for governor of Michigan. He officially started his campaign on February 25, 2017.
He decided to run after seeing the Flint water crisis. He felt that the government had not paid enough attention to communities. He believed this led to thousands of children being harmed. He wanted to make sure the government worked for the people.
El-Sayed promised not to take money from big companies for his campaign. He raised over $5 million from individual people.
He received support from important political figures like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. He also had support from groups like Justice Democrats. In the primary election on August 7, 2018, he received about 30% of the votes. He lost to Gretchen Whitmer.
After the election, in September 2018, El-Sayed started a political group called Southpaw MI PAC. This group helps support other candidates who share similar ideas.
Running for Senate
On April 17, 2025, Abdul El-Sayed announced he would run for the U.S. Senate election in Michigan. He decided to run after the current Michigan senator, Gary Peters, said he would not seek re-election.
His Family Life
Abdul El-Sayed grew up in Southeast Michigan. He now lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah Jukaku. They have two daughters.
