50 Most Influential Clinical Executives - 2020

Acton, who resigned June 11 as head of the Ohio Department of Health, was lauded by many public health officials for her handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, including working closely with Gov. Mike DeWine to aggressively shut down the state to curb the disease’s spread. Her actions are credited with keeping Ohio’s COVID-19 numbers lower than those of neighboring states, experiencing half the confirmed cases of Michigan. She faced heavy criticism, however, from lawmakers who wanted to reopen the state's economy more quickly. She agreed to stay in the DeWine administration as his chief health adviser.