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Shannon Lightner-Gometz, MPA ’01, MS ’01, Deputy Director, Illinois Dept of Public Health, Office of Women's Health
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Shannon Lightner-Gometz is currently the Deputy Director at the Illinois Department of Public Health, where she oversees the Office of Women’s Health. The Office of Women’s Health has an annual budget of more than $30 million and features numerous programs designed to improve the health of girls and women in the State of Illinois. During her tenure at the Department, she has led the successful expansion of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, the State’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This expansion made Illinois the first and only state in the country to allow all uninsured women, regardless of income, access to free breast and cervical cancer screenings and treatment.
Previously Lightner-Gometz served as a Senior Health Policy Advisor to the Governor of Illinois, where she worked across state agencies and with constituent and advocacy groups to craft, implement, and manage broad health care initiatives. In this capacity she was also responsible for the final review of all health care and social service bills passed by the Legislature and presented to the Governor’s Office for final action.
She has also served as a Legislative Assistant for Health Care, Welfare, and Children and Family policy for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and was a Jacob Javits Fellow for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. Lightner-Gometz also implemented a plan to address health care disparities for the American College of Physicians, which was subsequently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and in the Journal of the National Medical Association. She has a Master of Public Administration from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, a Master of Social Work from the Columbia University School of Social Work, and a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.