Biographies
- Wendy Davis, MD, Commissioner
- Donald R. Swartz, MD, Medical Director
- Barbara Cimaglio, Deputy Commissioner
- Christine Finley, Deputy Commissioner
Wendy Davis, MD
Commissioner
Wendy Davis, MD, is a licensed pediatrician, and has been with the Vermont Department of Health since early 2007, serving as director of the Maternal and Child Health Division. In that role, Dr. Davis had oversight responsibilities for the department’s many maternal and child health programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Children with Special Health Needs, and family planning.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Davis led the department’s involvement as a senior partner in the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP). She has served on the Health Department’s Birth Information Advisory Committee, as well as on the Provider Practice Committee of the Blueprint for Health Chronic Care Initiative. Dr. Davis received the Commissioner’s Award from the Health Department in 2002, and is a former consultant to the department’s Office of Local Health.
In addition to her work with the Health Department, Dr. Davis is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and is a former lecturer and instructor in pediatrics at Yale University. She has been an attending physician at Fletcher Allen Health Care since 1987, and was a member of its Board of Trustees from 2002 – 2006. Dr. Davis has served on the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care Community Advisory Board since 2004.
Donald R. Swartz, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Swartz came to the Department of Health in 1999, and was appointed Medical Director in January, 2007. Prior to his appointment, he served as director of Maternal and Child Health, and as director of the Division of Heath Improvement.
In his role as medical director, Dr. Swartz sits on the commissioner’s Executive Team and leads the team of physicians who serve in various roles across the department. He advises the commissioner regarding matters of medical science, and policy and practice as it impacts the health and medical care of Vermonters. He additionally serves as the department’s liaison with health care providers, professional organizations, and with the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
Dr. Swartz received his medical degree from West Virginia University, his Pediatric training at Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, and came to Vermont in 1967 establishing a private practice of Pediatrics. In 1986, he focused his work on Pediatric Pulmonary Disease and Cystic Fibrosis. Dr. Swartz is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and has served as the Chairman of the AAP-Vermont Chapter which awarded him with the Green Mountain Pediatric Award in recognition of his contributions to the health of Vermont’s children. He is a current member and a past president of the medical staff of Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Barbara Cimaglio
Deputy Commissioner for
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Programs
Barbara Cimaglio joined the Department of Health in 2004 and leads the department’s oversight and development work in substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery.
Prior to coming to Vermont, she served as director of the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs for the State of Oregon’s Department of Human Services. In this capacity, she led Oregon’s effort to become one of the first states to receive a national Center for Substance Abuse Prevention state incentive grant to restructure the organization and delivery of substance abuse prevention programs.
At the national level, Cimaglio is past-president of the board for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. Her experience also includes three years as director of the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse for the State of Illinois, and 15 years of community-based work as project director for Youth Outreach Services, an adolescent prevention and treatment program in Chicago.
Christine Finley, MPH
Deputy Commissioner for
Public Health
Christine Finley was appointed deputy commissioner for public health in January 2007. In this position, Finley provides overall leadership for the myriad of public health programs within the department. She manages coordination of services with the Agency of Human Services, and the other departments and agencies throughout the state. Internally, FInley leads the implementation team for the Health Department’s realignment process.
Prior to her current position, Finley was director of field operations in the Division of Community Public Health, where she supervised 12 district directors for the planning and implementation of local public health. Finley served previously as deputy commissioner for the Health Department (1991 – 1993), and worked for five years in the foreign service as a nurse practitioner in U.S. embassies in Yugoslavia, Cameroon and Bulgaria.
A certified nurse practitioner with Masters degrees in both public health and nursing, Finley has also served as a primary care nurse practitioner in a large internal medicine group practice affiliated with Fletcher Allen Health Care, and as a community health nursing instructor at the University of Vermont.