ITHACA — Tompkins County legislators, at their June 17 meeting, unanimously appointed Jennie Sutcliffe as the next whole health commissioner, effective July 7. Sutcliffe, a Trumansburg native, brings more than a decade of experience in public-health leadership, emergency preparedness, health policy, and cross-sector collaboration, according to an announcement on the Tompkins County government website. Since […]
ITHACA — Tompkins County legislators, at their June 17 meeting, unanimously appointed Jennie Sutcliffe as the next whole health commissioner, effective July 7.
Sutcliffe, a Trumansburg native, brings more than a decade of experience in public-health leadership, emergency preparedness, health policy, and cross-sector collaboration, according to an announcement on the Tompkins County government website. Since 2018, she has served as a senior advisor in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the New York City Health Department. In that role, she led the strategic planning and implementation of the department’s Response Ready initiative and served in leadership positions during multiple public-health emergencies, including directing quarantine and isolation operations during the Mpox response and leading COVID-19 incident-command initiatives such as vaccine operations and personal protective equipment distribution.
Sutcliffe also served as a senior policy analyst in the NYC Health Department’s First Deputy Commissioner’s Office, where she influenced Medicaid and health-care policy and led multimillion-dollar pilot projects focused on social determinants of health.
Before that, Sutcliffe held positions in Chicago, Illinois, including health justice policy specialist at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law and Policy Analyst under Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration, focusing on Affordable Care Act and Medicaid implementation for justice-impacted populations.
“It is an honor and privilege to be offered the chance to lead such a talented and dedicated department. I grew up in Tompkins County and have spent my career in government and health, so stepping into this role is immensely exciting for me,” Sutcliffe said in the announcement. “Tompkins County is such a vibrant community, I’m looking forward to leading collaboratively with everyone at Whole Health to meet the mental and public health needs of our community.”
Tompkins County’s Public Health Department and Mental Health Services Department became Tompkins County Whole Health in 2023, following a strategic-planning process of integration that began in 2019. The whole health commissioner is charged with administrative oversight and leadership of both public health and mental-health services. The commissioner is responsible for advancing the department’s mission to build a healthy, equitable community in Tompkins County by addressing the root causes of health disparities and integrating mental, physical, and environmental health.
