Judith A. Monroe, M.D. FAAFP
State Health Commissioner
Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH)

Dr. Monroe is the Indiana State Health Commissioner and Medical Director for Medicaid, appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels in March 2005. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is the lead agency for Governor Daniels’ INShape Indiana initiative launched in July 2005 to promote improved health for Hoosiers.  Dr. Monroe has traveled the state widely to better understand the community needs.  ISDH conducted statewide summits in 2005 and 2006 focusing on disease prevention and improving health in Indiana. 

Dr. Monroe is a member of the National Governors Association Health Care Practice Task Force and Center for Best Practices Healthy Communities Work Group.  She is a member of the Indiana Health Information Exchange Board.  In addition, she is Chair of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Executive Board and the Interagency Council on Black and Minority Health.  She is active on many boards and commissions affecting women’s health issues. 

Among her many other appointments, she also serves as Chair of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Preparedness Policy Committee.  In December 2006, Dr. Monroe traveled to Israel with a delegation from ASTHO for preparedness training.  This was the first international delegation in the history of ASTHO and the start of an ongoing exchange with Israel.

From 1992 until her appointment as health commissioner she served as the director of the St. Vincent Primary Care Center and Family Medicine Residency Program in Indianapolis. Prior to her time at St. Vincent she was Clinical Director with the Department of Family Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine from 1990 to 1992. Dr. Monroe was a National Health Service Corps Scholar and fulfilled her commitment practicing in Appalachia following her residency training in family medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Monroe received her medical degree from the University of Maryland and undergraduate degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

Between college and medical school she worked as a medical technologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in blood bank and kidney transplant.

Dr. Monroe is a family doctor and has always been passionate about eliminating health disparities.  She has practiced in several underserved communities and believes we can make a difference by working together.  She has received numerous awards for her teaching, clinical, and leadership skills.