Dr. Mouhanad Hammami (left) and Jose Chang | Credit: Courtesy
Two new department heads joined the County of Santa Barbara, the CEO’s office announced today, Dr. Mouhanad Hammami with Public Health, and Jose Chang as the new Agricultural Commissioner.
Dr. Hammami will fill the petite but mighty shoes of Van Do-Reynoso, who led the county through the COVID-19 pandemic with calm and determination. He joins the Public Health Department — which also includes Animal Services, Environmental Health, and Emergency Services — from Wayne County, Michigan, where he is the chief health strategist and was elemental to that county’s pandemic response. In Michigan, as well as leading a health department for nine years, he was a senior VP for Trinity Health, a large not-for-profit health system, for three years, and taught at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He received his MD from Aleppo University in Syria, and graduate degrees in public health and administration from the University of Michigan.