Biography of Seth Foldy MD, MPH

Seth Foldy MD, MPH became State Health Officer and Administrator of the Division of Public Health for the State of Wisconsin in January, 2009.

Dr. Foldy practiced and taught urban community-oriented family practice for fifteen years in Worcester, MA and Cleveland OH. From 1996 to 2004 he served as Medical Director and then Commissioner of the Milwaukee Health Department as it pioneered electronic disease surveillance, led the eradication of the Western Hemisphere's first monkeypox outbreak, and improved rates of childhood lead poisoning, vaccination, health insurance, tobacco use and infant mortality.

Dr. Foldy later served as Medical Director of Health Care for the Homeless of Milwaukee and co-founded the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE). He provided consultation and authored numerous publications in health informatics, emergency preparedness, and public health systems in association with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Argonne National Laboratory, the Center for International Health and health.e.volution consulting. He earned Presidential Volunteer Awards for participation in a joint Navy-civilian tsunami-relief operation in Indonesia and training health professionals in the Republic of Georgia.

Dr. Foldy holds degrees from Stanford University, Case Western Reserve University and the Medical College of Wisconsin; faculty appointments at both Wisconsin medical schools and the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee; and board certifications in Family and Preventive Medicine. He is President of the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine and member of a National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine committee on bioterrorism surveillance. He was awarded APHA's 2002 Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work among other honors.

Last Revised: April 27, 2009