Dr. Palacio has forged her expertise working in diverse geographies and sectors, including government, academia, nonprofits, and philanthropy. As a local government official Herminia served as Special Policy Advisor to the San Francisco Director of Health, as Executive Director of Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (TX), and as Deputy Mayor for New York City Health and Human Services during the de Blasio administration, where she oversaw a large portfolio of agencies. Herminia was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2023.

Darlene leads trust-building initiatives to bring traditional and non-traditional partners together to modernize systems so they more effectively deliver public health services and enable better health for all. She began her career at a local Colorado health department and has been translating the commercial tobacco control policy experience she gained there and at the FDA, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law to broader public health systems work since she joined the Network in 2023.

Dr. DeBruin primarily works on issues in public health ethics and the ethics of health policy, with a focus on concerns about social justice and health equity. She has done substantial work on public health emergency preparedness and response, and scarce resource allocation.