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Nathan T. Chomilo

Medicaid Medical Director

Minnesota Department of Human Services

Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow Alumni 2022 Cohort 6

Dr. Nathan T. Chomilo’s work has explored how early‑childhood interventions and access to health care shape the health & future prospects of children & their communities as well as how physicians & health systems can promote racial & health equity. Throughout his work he strives to center Black, Brown, Indigenous, & other marginalized communities. He is currently the Medical Director for the State of Minnesota’s Medicaid & MinnesotaCare programs & still practices as a General Pediatrician. He was previously tapped to serve as the State of MN’s COVID-19 vaccine equity director & as Senior Advisor on Equity to the Minnesota Commissioner of Health. He received a Zoology degree from Miami University & graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed his combined residency in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at the University of MN & was the Pediatric Chief Resident at the U of MN. Prior to working for the State of MN, he was also an internal medicine hospitalist.

He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the U of MN Medical School & has served on the board of directors for the MN chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) & as Chair of the national AAP’s Council on Health Equity. He currently serves on the board of directors of Reach Out & Read & is a member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Equity in HEDIS Expert Work Group.

He has penned published OpEds & peer-reviewed health policy perspective pieces, been an invited speaker at multiple national conferences & cited in pieces in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, New York Times, Wall St. Journal, The Atlantic, STAT news, CNN.com, Parent Magazine & the Star Tribune. In 2022 he was the invited keynote speaker at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health’s commencement ceremony.

His work has been recognized by the City of Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights which recognized him as a 2019 History Maker at Home recipient, Minnesota Physician which named him one of the 100 most influential health care leaders in 2020 & 2024, the Minnesota Medical Association which awarded him the President’s Award in 2021, the Task Force for Global Health which named him a 2021 Global Health Hero & the Aspen Institute which selected him to be an Aspen Ascend Fellow in 2022. He was a consensus committee member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2024 report Launching Lifelong Health. In 2025 he was among the inaugural inductees into Eden Prairie High School’s Hall of Fame.

Stories Featuring Nathan T. Chomilo
July 15, 2025
Co-Creating the Future: How States are Scaling What Works for Families
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February 14, 2025
Impact & Inspiration: 2024 Ascend Annual Report
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February 20, 2024
Inside-Outside Magic: How to Weave Lived Experience into Policymaking
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February 14, 2024
2023 Ascend Impact & Inspiration Report
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May 16, 2023
Fellow Spotlight: Nathan Chomilo, Minnesota Medicaid & MinnesotaCare
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August 8, 2022
Aspen Institute Announces 2022 Ascend Fellows
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Ascend Fellows are a community of values-driven leaders who share an unwavering commitment to our shared goal of intergenerational family prosperity and well-being.