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Speaker Bios

Leighton Ku

Leighton Ku recently joined the faculty of the George Washington University as professor of health policy in the School of Public Health and Health Services.  He is a nationally-respected health policy expert, who has conducted research on topics including immigrant health, state health reforms, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.  He has worked with federal, state and local governments, organizations and advocacy groups on a variety of efforts to strengthen access to affordable health care.  Prior to joining GWU, he was a senior fellow for several years at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-DC think tank and policy organization and before that he was a senior researcher at the Urban Institute, another Washington think tank.  For several years, he was a regular panelist on a radio talk show focusing on American health policy.  He has a PhD in health policy from Boston University and an MPH from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Scott Leitz

Scott Leitz was appointed assistant commissioner of health in January 2007. In his role as assistant commissioner, Mr. Leitz oversees and directs the department’s efforts on health care policy development, and he is spearheading the Pawlenty Administration’s efforts on health policy and reform. In addition, he directs the department's overall legislative and policy development activities. His bureau also has responsibility for overseeing the regulation of health maintenance organizations, nursing homes, and hospitals in Minnesota. The department employs approximately 1,300 staff in the Twin Cities area and in seven offices in Greater Minnesota. Prior to becoming assistant commissioner, Leitz directed the division of Health Policy, which has broad responsibility for research and analysis on Minnesota’s health care market, including the monitoring of health insurance premiums, the status of health access for Minnesotans, research into health disparities, and reporting on issues of health quality. Under Mr. Leitz, the division also assumed responsibility for the implementation of Minnesota’s health information technology efforts and Minnesota’s Adverse Health Events reporting system. He also served as the state’s Health Care Economist from 1999 to 2005. Mr. Leitz has a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Jonathan Watson

Jonathan Watson has served as the Associate Director of the MN Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC) for the past 11 years. At MNACHC, he also serves as the Public Policy Director for both federal and state-level advocacy issues. MNACHC represents 17 Community Health Centers in Minnesota who collectively serve nearly 160,000 individuals. Prior to that, he was a Medicaid budget and policy analyst with the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Health and Family Services. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mitchell Davis, Jr.

Mitchell Davis, Jr., currently serves as director of the Office of Minority and Multicultural Health (OMMH). The office covers approximately 15 percent of Minnesota’s population and oversees health work with specific focus on American Indians and populations of color. A key cornerstone of the office is to reduce health disparities through programmatic solutions grounded in community asset strategies and interventions. OMMH is the Minnesota Department of Health’s lead office for promoting the good health of American Indians and populations of color, who live in over 95 percent of Minnesota counties. As director, Davis serves as liaison on health disparity issues to state, local and tribal government leaders, as well as interest groups and the community/public; providing leadership, advice and assistance, cultivating new ideas, while growing relationships with all sectors and segments of the community.  Before joining the Minnesota Department of Health, Mr. Davis served in business consulting, where he focused in the areas of health and human services, community development, program/project management, domestic violence, facilitation and strategic planning. Previously, Davis directed the Children’s Wellness Project at the Minneapolis Foundation; which focused on health provider and family capacity building to reduce significant health disparities (infant mortality) that exist between children of color and caucasian children. He is a board member of ClearWay Minnesota and Gillette Children’s Specialty Hospital, a member of the State Offices of Minority Health, alumni member of the California Grantsmanship Center, Master Leadership Forum participant, Junior Achievement mentor, president of the Minnesota Healthcare Financial Management Association and has received the Who’s Who in Health and Medicine Award. Trained in business administration, health care management and facilitation/community cultures, he has always been interested in the roles that culture, race and ethnicity play in public health and the delivery of health and human services.