Abdul El-Sayed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abdul El-Sayed
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| 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 |
| Awards | Rhodes Scholarship Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship |
Abdul El-Sayed (born October 31, 1984) is an American leader who works in public health and government. He is currently the director of Health, Human, and Veterans Services for Wayne County.
Before this, he was a candidate for governor of Michigan in 2018. He came in second place in the Democratic Party's primary election. In 2018, he also started a group called Southpaw Michigan to help other candidates who share his ideas get elected.
From 2015 to 2017, El-Sayed was the main health officer for the City of Detroit. He also used to be a professor at Columbia University, teaching about public health. Today, he is a political expert for CNN. He has written books like Healing Politics and Medicare for All. He also hosts a podcast called America Dissected. In 2020, he helped a special group for Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders that focused on health care in the United States.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Abdul El-Sayed was born in the metro Detroit area. His parents moved to the United States from Egypt. He grew up in the Detroit area with his father, Mohamed El-Sayed, and his stepmother, Jacqueline El-Sayed. Both of his parents are engineers. His mother, Fatten Elkomy, is a nurse practitioner.
El-Sayed finished high school in 2003 at Bloomfield Hills Andover High School. He was a great athlete, playing 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 was a top student and even gave a speech at his graduation in front of President Bill Clinton.
El-Sayed started medical school at the University of Michigan. He led a student trip to Peru to help people with medical needs. He also started a group that helped a local free clinic. After two years, he received a special award called a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed him to study public health at Oriel College, Oxford in England. He finished his DPhil (a high-level degree like a PhD) in 2011. While at Oxford, he was also the captain of Oxford's men's lacrosse team.
In 2014, he finished his medical degree (MD) at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He received support from the Soros Fellowship. After medical school, El-Sayed did not become a practicing doctor. This means he is not licensed to treat patients.
Career in Public Health
Abdul El-Sayed has written many articles and book chapters about public health. These writings focus on how health policies affect people and how different groups of people experience health differently. His ideas have also been shared in major newspapers and news channels like The New York Times and CNN.
Public Health Professor
In 2014, El-Sayed became a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He taught about how different parts of society affect people's health. He also led programs that studied health around the world. He has written over 100 scientific papers about health differences, birth outcomes, and obesity. He even created the first course at the Mailman School on how different systems affect public health.
Health Director of Detroit
In August 2015, Mayor Mike Duggan chose El-Sayed to be the Health Officer and Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department. At 30 years old, he was the youngest health officer in a major U.S. city at that time. His job was to rebuild Detroit's health department. This department had been run by a non-profit group after Detroit's city government had money problems in 2012.
When he started, El-Sayed had a small office and only five employees. In his first year, he worked to stop a company from increasing pollution from its refinery. This led to less pollution overall. He also made sure that Detroit schools were tested for lead after the Flint Water Crisis. He helped provide free glasses to children in Detroit schools and improved the city's Animal Control department.
Because of his work to reduce lead poisoning, El-Sayed was asked to join a special board for the state governor. He also served on other important health committees for Michigan and the U.S. government. In 2016, he was recognized as one of Detroit's "40 under 40" young leaders. He was also named "Public Official of the Year" by a Michigan environmental group. In 2017, the University of Michigan honored him for his achievements and service.
Health Director of Wayne County
In December 2022, Abdul El-Sayed was chosen to lead Wayne County's Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services. He officially started this role in March 2023.
2018 Campaign for Governor
On February 9, 2017, news came out that El-Sayed would leave his job as health director to run for governor of Michigan. He officially announced his campaign on February 25, 2017. He decided to run after seeing the Flint water crisis. He said he believed government should work for the people.
El-Sayed promised not to take money from big companies for his campaign. He raised over $5 million from individual people instead.
He received support from important figures like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He was also supported by groups like Justice Democrats. In the election on August 7, he received about 30% of the votes. He lost to Gretchen Whitmer.
In September 2018, El-Sayed started a political group called Southpaw MI PAC. This group helps support candidates who share his liberal ideas.
Personal Life
Abdul El-Sayed lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah Jukaku. She is a psychiatrist, a type of doctor who helps people with their mental health.
See Also
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