On the road to being named the inaugural dean of Georgetown’s soon-to-be-launched School of Health, Christopher J. King, PhD, MHSc, FACHE, has worn many hats—a high school health teacher, a CPR instructor, a health care administrator for a federally qualified health center, a health systems administration professor, and a prolific health disparities researcher and thought leader. The common thread through all of them? “It’s all about health, the focus on the most vulnerable, and creating a system that works for all,” King says.

"Dr. King has devoted his career to improving health and addressing health disparities through a health justice and systems based approach,” said Georgetown President John J. DeGioia in announcing King’s selection.
King shared his journey to Georgetown and his vision for the School of Health with Edward Healton, MD, MPH. They were joined by John Monahan, JD, and Shoa Moosavi (NHS'23).
Scholarship and Service
Now in his second term of service, the Council of the District of Columbia first appointed King as Commissioner in 2019. At Georgetown, he served as the faculty leader of a report, requested by the D.C. Commission on African American Affairs, titled The Health of the African American Community in the District of Columbia: Disparities and Recommendations.
A thorough examination of federal as well as local — city, county, and state — historical policies, practices and events is imperative to fully understand why health disparities exist and persist, according to a Georgetown University team of researchers including King.
A new educational module on implicit bias is being offered by the District of Columbia Department of Health thanks, in part, to the creativity and expertise of King and the Department of Health Systems Administration.
A 2021 study – published by AARP District of Columbia in collaboration with King and the Department of Health Systems Administration – offers a substantive look at the health and socioeconomic disparities affecting older Black adults who reside in the nation’s capital.
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