Ala Stanford, the Jenkintown physician who started the nationally acclaimed Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium in Philadelphia at the beginning of the pandemic, has been appointed to serve as a regional director for the Department of Health and Human Services by President Joe Biden, writes Robert Moran for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Stanford is one of the three new regional directors announced by the White House and will cover Region 3, which serves Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

“These regional appointees will be critical to the President’s efforts to rebuild communities most impacted by the pandemic, the economic recovery, and climate change,” said the White House. “They bring deep expertise in their issue areas as well as critical relationships with federal, state, tribal, and local leaders.”

Stanford founded the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium in April 2020 to make sure tests, and later vaccines, were made available to underserved neighborhoods. Since then, the organization has helped tens of thousands of Philadelphians.

She was recognized for her efforts numerous times, including being named a 2021 Top 10 CNN Hero and having received a 2021 George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award.

Read more about Ala Stanford in The Philadelphia Inquirer.