Novello First Woman and Hispanic Surgeon General

Who was the first woman to serve as Surgeon General of the United States? Who was the first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General? Be forewarned – it’s a trick question. They are one and the same person: Antonia C. Novello.

Novello was born on August 23, 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. As a child she was plagued by a chronic illness of the colon, and was forced to go to a hospital for several weeks every summer to have the condition treated. It was during this time that she decided to become a doctor. However, for a girl without much money, the idea of becoming a doctor was daunting.

She knew that the best way to attain her dreams was to study hard in school, and she followed this philosophy all the way through her educational journey, which culminated in her receiving her master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University in 1982.

Along the way she slowly rose up the medical ladder through such jobs as deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Eventually she caught the attention of President George H.W. Bush. In 1989 he appointed her as United States Surgeon General. At her swearing in ceremony in 1990 she said “somewhere…there’s another minority girl or boy who can dream the dreams that I…dreamed…”

As Surgeon General Novello focused on preventing smoking and drinking among children, as well on the tackling the disease AIDS. She also stirred up controversy by supporting a policy prohibiting family planning program workers who received federal financing from discussing abortion.

Novello left the Surgeon General’s post in 1993. Since 2008 she has been vice president of Women and Children Health and Policy Affairs at Disney Children’s Hospital in Florida. She remains a trailblazer for women and Hispanics everywhere.