Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s public health chief, taking leave of absence for medical treatment, is seeking a new permanent position in the city’s public health department.
De Villa, 51, who is also the former CEO of St. Lawrence Public Health, said in a statement that she will stay on until the end of June as temporary chief. She will then submit her name for a final selection.
The city of Toronto says Dr. Eileen de Villa is stepping down from her role as Public Health director to pursue other opportunities. (Kate Porter/CBC News)
Toronto has a vacancy
Toronto has no replacement to fill de Villa’s role temporarily so the city’s health department is in conversation with the University of Toronto and other academic institutions.
That search is expected to be concluded by the end of June. In the meantime, de Villa will remain on her interim basis as chief.
The city of Toronto says Dr. Eileen de Villa is stepping down from her role as Public Health director to pursue other opportunities. (Kate Porter/CBC News)
On the job since 2007
Before serving as deputy health minister, de Villa served as an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
She also worked in a variety of different positions in the United States before landing at St. Lawrence Public Health. In that role, she is credited with helping raise the profile of the agency and helping the city of St. Louis establish a public health department in 2015.
It was while at St. Lawrence Public Health that she was approached by the City of Toronto to serve as its public health director.
“I’ve been lucky to work in public health. It’s one of the health care careers that have been most rewarding,” she said in a news release.
The City of Toronto says Dr. Eileen de Villa is stepping down from her role as Public Health director to pursue other opportunities.
“Her commitment to the city and to the public health sector is extraordinary. Her leadership and advocacy for the city’s public health department has been invaluable,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a