News

Rep. Jon Santiago name First Cabinet-Level Veterans' Secretary

by Gov. Healey's office
Thursday Feb 23, 2023

Governor Maura T. Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kimberley Driscoll announced that they are appointing State Representative Jon Santiago to serve as Massachusetts' first ever Secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans' Services. Representative Santiago is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, an emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, a former volunteer in the Peace Corps, and has served as State Representative for the 9th Suffolk district since 2019.

In 2022, the Massachusetts Legislature passed An Act relative to the governance, structure and care of veterans at the Commonwealth's veterans' homes in response to the devastating tragedy at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in 2020. The legislation made a number of key reforms, including creating the Executive Office of Veterans' Services to be led by the Secretary of Veterans' Services. Among the Secretary's responsibilities include serving as the ultimate appointing authority of the superintendents of the state's two veterans' homes. The secretariat will be established on March 1, 2023, which is when Rep. Santiago will be sworn in as Veterans' Services Secretary.

"Representative Santiago has dedicated his life to serving his country — whether that's volunteering for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, working in the emergency room throughout COVID, being deployed overseas with the U.S. Army Reserve, or advocating for increased access to housing, public transportation and substance use disorder treatment in the State House," said Governor Healey. "His public health expertise and military service make him uniquely qualified to serve as Massachusetts' first ever Secretary of Veterans' Services. I'm confident that he will be the leader our veterans need and deserve and will always stand up for their health, safety and wellbeing."

"As the daughter of a Navy veteran, I'm so proud that Massachusetts is taking this critical step to ensure that our veterans are well cared for and prioritized by creating the Executive Office of Veterans' Services," said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. "I'm grateful to the veterans, legislators and advocates who worked so hard to see this through — and I'm grateful to Representative Santiago for stepping up to take on this enormous responsibility. I know our veterans will be in good hands under his leadership."

"I'm honored that Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll have placed their trust in me to assume this historic position," said Representative Santiago. "Our veterans deserve the absolute highest quality of care, but they are far too often underserved. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to meeting the complex needs of those who have bravely served our country, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my own service as Secretary of Veterans' Services."

Jon Santiago was born in Puerto Rico and received his undergraduate degrees in biology and religious studies from the University of Texas at Austin. After college, he volunteered for the Peace Corps where he organized sugarcane workers and communities in the Dominican Republic, and later was a Fulbright Scholar in Paris. He completed a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington at Seattle after returning from abroad. A graduate of Yale School of Medicine, he now works as an emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, the city's safety net hospital. He also serves as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and has been deployed overseas twice.

In 2018, he was elected State Representative for the 9th Suffolk District located in Boston. During his time in the Legislature, he advocated to increase funding and services to address the substance use epidemic, affordable housing, and tackle health disparities. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Representative Santiago 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 and Emergency Preparedness & Management to advise policymaking and ensure state government accountability.

He lives in the South End with his wife Alexandra and son Rafael.

The Veterans' Services Secretary will work closely with the newly constituted Veterans' Homes Council, which was also established by legislation. The Council's responsibilities include recommending improvements and policies for veterans' homes to the Secretary of Veterans' Services, submitting recommendations for appointments and removal of Veterans' Homes Superintendents, and developing an annual report reviewing the Veterans' Homes' demographics, finances, staffing levels, efficacy, equity, and resident well-being. Governor Healey and Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Mary Beckman announced their appointments to this council last week.