Norman Oliver

Meet Norman

Dr. Oliver is the former State Health Commissioner at the Virginia Department of Health (2018-2022). As the head of the VDH, Dr. Oliver led the Commonwealth of Virginia’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

Prior to that appointment, Dr. Oliver served as the Deputy Commissioner for Population Health for VDH (2017-2018). Before accepting the Deputy Commissioner position, Dr. Oliver was the Walter M. Seward Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (2011-2017). Throughout each of these three leadership roles, Dr. Oliver was focused on seeking ways to ensure the equitable health and well-being of all. Dr. Oliver worked with others in the health department, other state agencies, and healthcare systems across the state to improve the health and well-being of all citizens of the Commonwealth. He worked diligently to help build cross-agency and multi-sector approaches to implementing population health initiatives. During his years as a researcher (1998-2011), Dr. Oliver focused his research on investigating the social, economic, and cultural factors leading to racial and ethnic health inequities. As a UVA Health System clinical leader, Dr. Oliver worked to help the healthcare center address these social determinants of health affecting the patients and communities served by UVA.

Dr. Oliver attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University, where he also obtained his Masters degree in medical anthropology. He trained in family medicine at Case, and he then practiced broad-spectrum family medicine in rural Alaska for 2 years before joining the UVA Department of Family Medicine in 1998.