Julie Morita is an American

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

expert. She is president of the

Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...

and previously served as the executive vice president of the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

. She also served as a member of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

COVID-19 Advisory Board The COVID-19 Advisory Board was announced in November 2020 by President-elect of the United States Joe Biden as part of his Presidential transition of Joe Biden, presidential transition. It was co-chaired by physicians David A. Kessler, Marcella ...

and as Commissioner of the

Chicago Department of Public Health The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is a government department of the City of Chicago. The purpose of the CDPH is to create a thriving and healthy community within the city of Chicago, Illinois by providing guidance, services and strat ...

Early life and education

Morita was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to Mototsugu and Betty Morita. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her parents were uprooted from their homes in the Pacific Northwest and detained in Japanese Internment Camps in Idaho. Morita has discussed her family's history as a major influence on her interest in health equity. As a young girl, she was interested in a career in medicine, inspired by the children's book "Nurse Nancy." In 1982, she began her undergraduate career at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, where she planned to pursue a degree in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

. Seeking a more human-to-human connection, she changed her major to

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

to pursue the

pre-medical Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students mostly in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med ...

track. In 1986, she received her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree. She then attended

University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and formerly Champaign–Urbana metropolitan ...

, where she received her

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree before performing her medical residency in

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 1990 to 1993.

Career

Early career

Following her residency, Morita practiced pediatrics in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, for four years before moving to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

to join the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

as an

Epidemic Intelligence Service The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a program of the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The modern EIS is a two-year, hands-on post-doctoral training program in epidemiology, with a focus on field work. Hist ...

Officer. There, she focused on

vaccine-preventable diseases A vaccine-preventable disease is an infectious disease for which an effective preventive vaccine exists. If a person acquires a vaccine-preventable disease and dies from it, the death is considered a vaccine-preventable death. The most common and ...

Role at Chicago Department of Public Health

In 1999, Morita returned to her home city of

to join the

where she began working as the medical director for

immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the antigen, immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ' ...

, applying her expertise gained at the CDC. In this capacity, she oversaw the response to the

2009 swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918� ...

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

, and

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

, as well as worked to address disparities in vaccination rates by focusing resources towards communities with lower vaccination rates. In 2014, after receiving an $800,000 grant provided through the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

, she worked to increase the number of HPV vaccinations among teenagers in Chicago, launching a campaign to broadcast public service announcements and leverage print and outdoor media to raise awareness. She also worked to decrease stigma around the HPV vaccine, which is another source of

vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal of vaccines despite availability and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using ce ...

. In 2015, Morita was appointed to Commissioner of the

under the leadership of Mayor

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician, advisor, diplomat, and former investment banker who most recently served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 ...

, becoming the first Asian American to lead the department. In this role, she developed and launched Healthy Chicago 2.0, a four-year program that launched in April 2016 focused on addressing health equity and addressing root causes of disparity, centering on community collaboration. In June 2019, Morita left her post as Commissioner to join the

as Executive Vice President.

COVID-19 response

In her role at the

, Morita worked to address the

Coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include f ...

(COVID-19) pandemic in the United States, with a particular focus on the pandemic's effects in exacerbating existing inequities. She raised awareness around the economic effects of the pandemic, which have disproportionately impacted black and Latino communities in the United States. She and her colleagues used insights garnered from the survey to inform policies to address these economic inequities and address structural barriers. Morita advocated for the importance of coordinating with the

to ensure rapid, safe, and equitable distribution of an eventual

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

. On November 9, 2020, Morita was named to serve on

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

advisory board.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Julie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Health professionals from Chicago American public health doctors American physicians of Japanese descent University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Illinois College of Medicine alumni American pediatricians American women pediatricians American women public health doctors Members of the National Academy of Medicine