New Jersey Health Commissioner Announces New Executive Leadership Team

Appointees bring decades of combined experience and deep roots in New Jersey's health system

TRENTON, NJ - New Jersey Health Commissioner Raynard E. Washington today announces the executive leadership team who will work alongside him to advance the State health department's mission to protect the public's health, promote healthy communities, and improve the quality of care.

"This team brings broad experience, diverse perspectives, and deep roots across New Jersey," said Commissioner Washington. "Together we'll make measurable progress on the things that matter most to residents-expanding access to care, lowering costs, and protecting the health of our children and communities."

Neil Eicher joins the Department as Deputy Commissioner for Health Systems, Raquel Mazon Jeffers joins as Deputy Commissioner for Population Health, and Susan Loughery has been promoted to Deputy Commissioner for Care and Treatment Services. Deputy Commissioner for Public Health Services Novneet Sahu, Chief of Staff Thalia Sirjue, Chief Operating Officer Kelly Anderson-Thomas, and Chief Counsel Kimberly Jenkins continue their service.

Collectively, the executive leadership team leads the Department's four core branches and agency-wide operations, carrying forward the Sherrill Administration's commitments to health care access and affordability, the well-being of New Jersey's children, and the effectiveness, transparency, and efficiency of State services.

Grounded in the Commissioner's conviction that public health is public safety, the Department's more than 6,000 employees work to give every New Jerseyan a fair chance at a long, healthy life by keeping people well before they get sick. The Department is also charged with caring directly for some of New Jersey's most vulnerable residents in the State's four psychiatric hospitals and holding health facilities to standards that keep care safe and dignified. The Department is driven by established medical evidence and focused on building a state where being healthy doesn't depend on a person's zip code.

As he announces his leadership team, Commissioner Washington thanks Nashon Hornsby, JD, LLM, for his dedicated service as the inaugural Deputy Commissioner for Population Health, helping to shape the new branch created during a department restructuring in 2025 to provide increased focus on social determinants of health. Hornsby will continue his service to the Department as Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Health Promotion.

With the resources provided in the FY 2027 Appropriations Act, the Department is also undertaking organization of the Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness established pursuant to Executive Order No. 6.

The Commissioner's executive leadership team:

Neil Eicher, MA - Deputy Commissioner, Health Systems

Neil Eicher joins the Department as Deputy Commissioner for Health Systems, bringing more than 15 years of experience guiding policy, operational, and strategic initiatives at the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA). Most recently serving as the association's Vice President of Policy, he played a leadership role in the policy development, legislative analysis and advocacy efforts on behalf of acute care hospitals, health systems, and post-acute providers across health care finance, workforce, regulation, and public health. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey State Senator Ellen Karcher.

In his new role, Eicher will lead the Health Systems branch, which oversees the licensing, inspection, and enforcement of regulations for approximately 2,400 licensed health care facilities in New Jersey and includes the Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency.

Raquel Mazon Jeffers, MIA, MPH - Deputy Commissioner, Population Health

Raquel Mazon Jeffers joins the Department as Deputy Commissioner for Population Health, bringing more than 30 years of experience leading public health initiatives at the state and national levels. She most recently served as Co-Director of the Community Health Acceleration Partnership, where she provided strategic guidance on modernizing the public health system to support a community driven system of care. Earlier in her career, she spent 12 years with the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - including five years as Director of the Division of Addiction Services and a subsequent term as Deputy Director - and spent 10 years at The Nicholson Foundation focused on improving the health and well-being of under-resourced populations in New Jersey.

In her new role, Mazon Jeffers will lead the Population Health branch, which works to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities across New Jersey by addressing the social, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence health.

Susan Loughery, MBA - Deputy Commissioner, Care and Treatment Services

Susan Loughery has been named Deputy Commissioner for Care and Treatment Services, bringing extensive experience in behavioral health and government service. She has served in the Department's Division of Behavioral Health Services since 2024, most recently as Assistant Commissioner, and is recognized as a leader in behavioral health, health care integration, and public health policy. Prior to joining the Department, she spent a decade at Catholic Charities in Trenton leading agency-wide operations and partnerships that expanded behavioral health, public health, and crisis response services for underserved communities.

In her new role, Loughery is leading the Care and Treatment Services Branch, which provides inpatient treatment and support services for 1,200 patients across the State's four public psychiatric hospitals (Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Hammonton; Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains; Trenton Psychiatric Hospital; and the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton) and works to strengthen the quality of long-term care and other health care facilities across New Jersey.

Novneet Sahu, MD, MPA - Deputy Commissioner, Public Health Services

Dr. Novneet Sahu continues as Deputy Commissioner for Public Health Services, bringing extensive experience as an emergency and family medicine physician in both local and global health settings. He has served at the Department since March 2024, including as State EMS Medical Director and Special Consultant in the Division of Disaster Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Medical Services. Prior to that, he served as Associate Professor of Emergency and Family Medicine and Director of Health Systems Science at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and as an Attending Physician at University Hospital in Newark. He also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Battalion Commander and has worked in Civil Affairs on global health engagement across Europe and Africa.

In his role, Dr. Sahu leads the Public Health Services branch, which works to protect the health of New Jerseyans by preventing and controlling communicable diseases, identifying and reducing environmental and occupational health risks, strengthening emergency preparedness and emergency medical services, supporting local public health capacity, and ensuring the scientific testing and laboratory infrastructure needed to detect, monitor, and respond to public health threats.

Thalia Sirjue - Chief of Staff

Thalia Sirjue continues as Chief of Staff, where she oversees more than 6,000 employees and a combined state and federal budget of $2.8 billion. She joined the Department in 2018 as Deputy Chief of Staff, where her work included serving as Director of the state's COVID-19 contact tracing program and later taking over the testing program - scaling up the contact tracing workforce, rolling out new contact tracing software, launching the COVID Alert NJ app, and managing the state's K-12 screening and at-home testing programs. Prior to joining the Department, Sirjue advised the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on health care innovation and program implementation and expansion.

In this role, she oversees the Department's communications, policy and legislative affairs, ethics, and employee equity services functions, along with enterprise-wide initiatives for strategic planning, public health accreditation, and health innovation.

Kelly Anderson-Thomas, MPH, MPA, MS - Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Commissioner, Division of Administration and Operations

Kelly Anderson-Thomas continues as the Department's first Chief Operating Officer. She previously served as the Deputy Commissioner for Public Health Services and was the first Deputy Executive Director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, helping to stand up the agency and oversee the opening of the state's recreational cannabis market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anderson-Thomas served as Director of State COVID-19 Testing, spearheading the implementation of New Jersey's testing program and chairing the State COVID-19 Testing Taskforce. Earlier in her career, she held procurement roles at the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and worked in clinical research at the Cell & Gene Therapy Center at UMDNJ.

As COO and Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Administration and Operations, Anderson-Thomas oversees the Department's operational units - human resources, fiscal services, IT, workforce planning & professional development, and facility management.

Kimberly Jenkins, JD - Chief Counsel, Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Kimberly Jenkins continues her service as the Chief Counsel of the Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance (OLRC), which provides guidance on the substance of the statutes and rules governing the responsibilities of the Department. Jenkins joined the Department in 2013 as Deputy Director of OLRC following an extensive career as Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Law, where she represented the Departments of Health, Human Services, and Military and Veterans Affairs. While at the Attorney General's office, she worked on many notable cases, including In re T.J.S., a high-profile case establishing key legal precedents in State parentage law.

In her role as Chief Counsel, Jenkins oversees the daily operations of OLRC and serves as the legal liaison with the Office of the Attorney General regarding rulemaking, adjudicatory hearing requests, and final decisions in contested cases.

Commissioner Washington began serving as Acting Commissioner of Health on January 20, was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate on March 23, and was sworn in as Commissioner by Governor Sherrill on June 1.

Information about the Department's senior leadership is available here and an organizational chart is available here.