Jon Santiago

Jon Santiago, MD, MPH was sworn in by Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll as Massachusetts’ first Secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) on March 1, 2023. Secretary Santiago is a lifelong public servant, who brings an unwavering commitment to ensuring that Massachusetts veterans have access to services and benefits worthy of their service to our nation.

Most recently, he served as Massachusetts State Representative for the 9th Suffolk District (Boston) where he advocated to increase funding and services to address the substance use epidemic, affordable housing, and tackle health disparities. Secretary Santiago is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who practices at Boston Medical Center, the city’s safety net hospital and New England’s busiest trauma center. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he doubled his hours in the emergency room and served as a member of the House of Representatives COVID-19 Working Group and Vice-Chair of the COVID-19 Committee to advise policymaking and ensure state government accountability.   

Prior to completing medical school at Yale University, he spent five years abroad including service as Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic and a Fulbright Scholar in Paris. He is currently a Major in the United States Army Reserve and has deployed overseas twice.