District 5 Commissioners
Mitzy De La Peña Medina, Vice-Chair
Mitzy De La Peña Medina was appointed to the Alameda County Public Health Commission by Supervisor Carson in 2022. With over a decade of experience in national government relations and public policy, both in the public and private sectors, Mitzy comes to the commission with expertise in communication strategies to drive civic engagement, campaign work, and political organizing. Mitzy has held leadership positions in the life science industry for the past two years. Currently, Mitzy is a Director of Local Government for a global biotech company, where she leads external engagements with elected officials and philanthropy efforts in support of community-based organizations to strengthen the student-to-STEM workforce pipeline, predominately in underserved communities. An Alameda County native, Mitzy is the eldest of five children and the daughter of Mexican Immigrants who have shaped her passion for health equity and social justice reforms. Mitzy received her Bachelor of Science from San Jose State University in Political Science with a concentration in law.
Deborah Levine
Deborah Levine, BS, MA, is a Senior Program Officer, Gender Equity, at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, working in the Data for Health Initiative. Prior to this, she founded and directed a non-profit organization called YTH (youth+tech+health) which worked on integrating technology into programs focused on youth health and wellness. She has won numerous awards, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, a White House Office of Violence Against Women award, and 40 over 40 Women to Watch. She serves on the Cornell Alumni Board of the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, Empower Work, and was a former Health Commissioner for the California State PTA. Her career began as a health educator as the creator of Alice! an enduring health resource at Columbia University, recognized for its long-lasting impact on student well-being and health education.
Jason Budge
I am a PhD candidate in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara, where I focus on LGBTQ+ inequality, health disparities, and survey research methods. I started as a Commissioner for District 5 of the Alameda County Public Health Commission in the summer of 2022 during the Mpox outbreak that primarily affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and transgender women. I wanted to bring my personal and professional experience to the commission to ensure an adequate public health response for this stigmatized community. I now serve on the Health Equity in All Policies sub-committee where I hope to continue my work on improving health disparities. I am also looking forward to learning from the experience of others on this commission to better understand how the public health system operates here in Alameda County.
