ELIZABETH SINGER, MD, MPH: Executive Director

Dr. Elizabeth Singer (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program, an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medical Education and Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine, and faculty in the Emergency Medicine Global Health Division at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s/West.  Her background in health and human rights includes work over the past 20 years as a healthcare provider for asylum seekers, a national trainer of clinicians, and a contributor to policy agenda with organizations such as Physicians for Human Rights, the ACLU’s National Prison Project, the NYU/ Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture, HEAL Trafficking, and HealthRight International. She is especially interested in the impact of U.S. immigration detention on the health of asylum seekers and is dedicated to working to advance improved policies in this area. 

Dr. Singer’s background in human rights frequently informs her work in global and public health.  At the community level, she has served in several capacities: as a consultant with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Ministry of Health in Cambodia to aid women with reproductive health rights and decisions; as a member of the board of directors and an expert medical advisor for Make a Difference, a non-governmental organization that addresses education and health disparities in vulnerable children in rural Tanzania; as a clinician working to improve access to healthcare in remote areas of Peru, India, East Africa, and Eastern Europe.  In addition to a medical degree, Dr. Singer received a Masters of Public Health in Forced Migration and Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance from Columbia’s Mailman School.