Dr. Aletha Maybank is the Antiguan American Assistant Commissioner in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and serves as the director of the Brooklyn District Public Health Office, in Central Brooklyn, since April 2009.
Dr. Maybank said the mission of the District Public Health Offices is to reduce health inequalities and promote health equity across New York City by targeting resources, programs and attention to high-need neighborhoods in the South Bronx, East and Central Harlem, and North and Central Brooklyn.
Prior to this, Dr. Maybank was founding director of the Office of Minority Health (OMH) in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in Long Island since its launch in 2005.
Under her leadership, the Suffolk County Office of Minority Health addressed the alarming health inequities and barriers to care for racial and ethnic minorities in Suffolk County through strategic implementation of the CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) Standards and by working with communities to build relationships that encouraged equitable interactions.
In 2007, Dr. Maybank, along with faculty at the Center for Public Health and Health Policy Research at Stony Brook University, co-founded the Suffolk County Minority Health Action Coalition, which now involves over 50 community stakeholders – all interested in improving the health outcomes of minority communities in Suffolk County.
Currently, Dr. Maybank serves on the Board of the New York State Public Health Association and the Executive Committee of the Empire State Medical Association, the NYS affiliate of the National Medical Association.
She also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Masters in Public Health Program at Long Island University Brooklyn Campus and on the voluntary faculty as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the State University of New York (SUNY) Stony Brook University School of Medicine. She teaches topics related to health inequities, public health leadership and management, and community organizing in health.
Dr. Maybank has presented and led trainings on topics related to health inequities, cultural competency and health literacy at numerous local and national events.
She has been a television guest on BET-106 & Park, NY Public Television’s Q &A, and CMS and You.
She has also had the opportunity to facilitate workshops and to advise on two film projects, respectively: “The Deadliest Disease in America” by Crystal Emery and “Soul Food Junkies” (still in production) by Byron Hurt.
Dr. Maybank has also been recognized for her public health contributions with various awards and honors from a number of organizations, such as the National Coalition of 100 Black Men, EMG Communications, and APC (Action, Performance and Commitment) Community Services in Brooklyn.
In her spare time, Dr. Maybank has served on two medical mission trips to Haiti in 2010 to assist in the post-earthquake relief efforts.
While there, she provided health care, conducted a public health assessment, and provided recommendations on how to improve sanitation and hygiene conditions on a tent camp of 20,000 people.
Dr. Maybank holds a BA degree from Johns Hopkins University, a MD (Doctor of Medicine) from Temple University School of Medicine, and a MPH (Master of Public Health) from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
She is board certified in both pediatrics and preventive medicine/public health.
