Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has selected Zaida Dedolph Piecoro, a MEZCOPH alumna, as her new Health Policy Advisor. Left to right above, Anna Carolina Ortiz, MPH '17 and Zaida Dedolph Piecoro, MPH '17.

Arizona’s Office of the Governor, Katie Hobbs, recently announced the appointments of key policy advisors for her administration. All of us in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) at the University of Arizona were very pleased to learn that one of our alumna, Zaida Dedoplph Piecoro, MPH ’17, now serves as the new Health Policy Advisor for Governor Hobbs. Congratulations Zaida!

Zaida joins the Governor’s Office from the Children’s Action Alliance where she has served as health policy director since 2019. Before that, she held positions at several Arizona nonprofit organizations advocating for an end to poverty, hunger, financial exploitation, and domestic violence. Zaida earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology and bioethics from Loyola University Chicago and a master’s degree in public health from MEZCOPH’s Phoenix Campus.  

Last fall, Zaida participated in a panel discussion on current challenges in maternal and child health that took place in Phoenix, hosted by MEZCOPH in collaboration with our chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. It was an insightful and compelling discussion, and you can read the story and watch the video of the discussion on our MEZCOPH website.

We are very pleased that Governor Hobbs has chosen Zaida to provide her experience and expertise to inform health policy in Arizona. We wish them both all the best in their efforts to improve health and wellness for all our communities. All of us in the college look forward to working with our state and county health professionals to promote health equity and widespread access to quality health services across our great state!