Terry Mason, MD, FACS

As Chief Operating Officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health, Dr. Mason is responsible for operations, direction and planning for public health, emergency preparedness, and disease prevention.

In the early 1990s, he hosted “Doctor in the House” on WVON 1690-AM and founded Center for New Life, a business focused on integrating diet modification and exercise to treat chronic diseases. In 2004, Dr. Mason launched the Restar4Health campaign, which encouraged the public to make smarter food choices. The following year, he became Commissioner of Health for the City of Chicago, overseeing more than 1,200 employees and a budget of $200 million. In 2009, he was appointed System Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Mason received a BS degree in biological science from Loyola University and an MD degree from the Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine at the University of Illinois. After completing a residency in general surgery at the university’s Metropolitan Group Hospitals Program and a residency in urology at the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, he developed a specialty service in male erectile dysfunction and prostrate cancer.

Dr. Mason has served as National Chairman of Urology at the National Medical Association and Midwest regional chair of Chicago’s National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer. He has been featured on “My Fox Chicago” and “Chicago Tonight,” in Ebony, and in the 2001 film, Forks Over Knives. Dr. Mason is the father of two adult children. He lives in Chicago.

Discover more about Dr. Mason’s career here.