Tracie C. Collins facts for kids

Tracie C. Collins is an American doctor and a leader in government. She is currently the Secretary of Health for the state of New Mexico. This means she helps manage all health-related matters for the state. Before taking on this important role, Dr. Collins was a top leader at the University of New Mexico. She was the dean of their College of Population Health. The New Mexico Senate officially approved her for her current job on February 19, 2021.

Her Schooling and Learning

Tracie Collins studied a lot to become a doctor and a public health expert. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, from the University of Central Oklahoma. After that, she went to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. There, she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree, which made her a medical doctor.

Dr. Collins continued her education at Harvard University. She earned a Master of Public Health degree there. This degree focuses on keeping whole communities healthy. Later, she also earned a Master of Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.

Her Career Journey

After becoming a doctor, Tracie Collins completed special training in internal medicine at the University of Oklahoma. She then did two more advanced training programs, called fellowships, at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Collins worked as a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine. Later, she became an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. From 2011 to 2019, she was a professor and led a department at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

In 2019, Dr. Collins became the dean of the University of New Mexico College of Population Health. This role meant she was in charge of the college that studies how to improve health for groups of people. On November 11, 2020, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham chose Dr. Collins to be the Secretary of Health for New Mexico. She was officially confirmed for this role by the New Mexico Senate on February 19, 2021.