Dr. Anne Zink

Dr. Zink became the State of Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer in July 2019 and served through 2024. She and her team led Alaska and the 229 federally recognized tribes through the COVID-19 pandemic. She also served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (ASTHO).

During her tenure, Dr. Zink guided Alaska through the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving some of the lowest case fatality rates in the country, the highest testing per capita early in the pandemic, and the quickest vaccination rollout in the middle of winter across a state larger than Montana, California, and Texas combined. Additionally, she and her team restructured the State of Alaska’s largest department, the Department of Health and Social Services, into two more efficient agencies. She directed the state’s efforts on Complex Care, contributed to the creation of the Healthy Alaskans Initiative, and enhanced mental health services across the state. Her work is informed by her ongoing clinical role as a practicing emergency medicine physician, where she directly observes the effects of policies on patients.

She has a special interest in using informatics and information to bring together public health and health care systems to improve the health of the people they serve and to ensure a patient-first focus and the need for clear and consistent communication so people can make their best health decisions for themselves, their family and their communities.