News Releases

Medical Board of California Selects 2024-2025 Leadership

President Lawson Says Physician Mental Health is a Key Priority

Published: Friday, August 30, 2024

SACRAMENTO — Last week, the Members of the Medical Board of California (Board) elected Kristina D. Lawson, J.D., to continue serving as Board president. In addition, Board members chose Dr. James M. Healzer, M.D., to be the Board's vice president, and Dr. Michelle Anne Bholat, M.D., MPH, as Board secretary. Lawson has served as Board President since May 2024, and previously from November 2020 to August 2023. Dr. Healzer was previously the Board's Secretary.

"It is a privilege to continue leading this vitally important state agency," Lawson said. "The Board continues to tackle challenging and important topics that advance our mission to protect consumers. I am particularly excited about our work to create a physician health and wellness program that will help ensure that California's doctors have the support they need to safely care for our state's residents and themselves."

Ms. Lawson was first appointed to the Board in 2015 by Governor Edmund G. Brown and was most recently reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022. She was appointed by Governor Newsom in July 2024 to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Lawson is Managing Partner and chief executive of Hanson Bridgett LLP, a California law firm with six offices throughout the state. Lawson also serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Bay Area Council, an organization of more than 300 influential employers committed to working with public and community leaders to keep the San Francisco Bay Area the most innovative, globally competitive, inclusive, and sustainable region in the world. She was a member of the Walnut Creek City Council from 2010 to 2014 and served as Walnut Creek's Mayor in 2014. Lawson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law, and a B.A. from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Healzer was first appointed to the Board in 2021 by Governor Gavin Newsom. He is Chair of the Chiefs of Quality for The Permanente Medical Group and Staff Anesthesiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center. He is also Chair of the Permanente Federation's Peer Review Advisory Committee. He completed residency training in Anesthesiology at Stanford University and Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; and he is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Healzer earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and a Master of Science degree in biological sciences from Stanford University.

Dr. Bholat was first appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown to serve on the Board between 2015 and 2019 and later appointed in 2022 by Governor Gavin Newsom. She is an editor for the Journal of Medical Regulation of the Federation of State Medical Boards. She also served as an expert reviewer to the Medical Board for many years. Her public service has been long-standing, and she has been a member of many boards concerned with vulnerable populations including the Los Angeles County Public Health Commission, Health Care Los Angeles, IPA Chief Medical Officers and the Association of California Health Districts. Currently, she is a board member of the Beach Cities Health District. Dr. Bholat earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California at Irvine and completed residency training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Bholat earned a Master's in Public Health Policy and Management from UCLA School of Public Health. She is board certified in Family Medicine and board eligible in Addiction Medicine. She is Professor of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Executive Director of the UCLA International Medical Graduate Program in the Department of Family Medicine at UCLA.

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The mission of the Medical Board of California is to protect health care consumers and prevent harm through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied health care professionals and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act, and to promote access to quality medical care through the Board's licensing, policy, and regulatory functions.