Just a few days before his inauguration, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the nomination of a transgender woman to his top level of administrators.
If confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Rachel Levine will serve as the state’s new physician general, and is the first out transgender person ever to be named to a high-ranking Pennsylvania government post. The appointment to Wolf’s cabinet would also make Levine one of the top-ranking transgender government officials in the nation.
The confirmation process for appointees begins in the Senate Public Health & Welfare Committee and is expected to wrap up before the full Senate by June.
“Dr. Levine is well-respected in the fields of pediatrics, psychiatry, and behavioral health, where she has practiced for close to three decades,” Wolf said in a statement. “She has been a leading voice in efforts to treat teens with medical and psychological problems, as well as adults and children with eating disorders.”
Levine, a Middletown resident, is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine, vice-chair for clinical affairs for its Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Eating Disorders at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital-Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
In a recent interview, Levine described her decision to transition about five years ago as “life-changing.”
“I’ve been addressing that issue all my life,” Levine told The Patriot News. “You don’t suddenly decide at 50-something that you’re transgender. Over the last 10 years, I’ve been investigating and exploring that. I hope I can serve as a mentor and role model for other LGBT people in Pennsylvania.”
Wolf acknowledged how Levine’s advisory role would play an important part in health-related issues.
“It is important to me that we place equal emphasis on behavioral and physical health issues,” said Wolf. “Dr. Levine will bring expertise and wide-ranging knowledge to this important role advising the secretary of health and me on medical and public-health matters.”
Levine said she’s eager to explore the intersectionality of medical, mental and behavioral health.
While it would be a landmark achievement for the transgender community if Levine were confirmed, Wolf spokesperson Jeff Sheridan told The Patriot News, “Levine was chosen to be physician general not because she is transgender but because of her extensive background in the areas of medical, public and behavioral health.”
Levine graduated from Harvard College in 1979 and then Tulane University School of Medicine in 1983. She completed her training in pediatrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, where she practiced from 1988-93.
In addition to her role at Hershey Medical Center, she currently serves as liaison for LGBT affairs for the center’s Office of Diversity, where she mentors and assists LGBT students and staff. Levine has also worked as the faculty advisor for the university’s LGBT student group and started an LGBT staff and faculty affinity group.
She is also a board member of Equality Pennsylvania.