Mia Orr White joined the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Community Partnerships and Health Equity (BCPHE) in September of 2021 as Deputy Director. BCPHE was established in 2018 by the LDH Office of the Secretary with a mission to support LDH’s larger mission of protecting and promoting health for all citizens of Louisiana by providing internal consultation on health equity and facilitating the organization of stakeholder partnerships at all levels. BCPHE also assists with developing policies and protocols to ensure that all LDH practices, both internal and external, are executed with equity. Mia stepped into this role with over 17 years of experience developing, implementing and evaluating health and human services proposals, policies and programs, with a heavy focus on social determinants of health, health disparities, health equity and the experiences of people in marginalized communities.
Prior to joining BCPHE, Mia served LDH as Medicaid Transformation Program Manager in the newly-created Innovations unit of the Medicaid Quality Improvement Section, through a collaboration with the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, Center for Healthcare Value and Equity. Her unit was tasked with implementing new ideas in healthcare delivery and payment transformation, including laying groundwork to incorporate population health initiatives and value-based payment arrangements into the state’s Medicaid contracts.
The bulk of Mia’s career has been in politics and advocacy, having spent 8 years as a health policy consultant for the California State Legislature and 3 years for a statewide child advocacy nonprofit in Louisiana. Mia prides herself on finding common ground even under contentious political circumstances, and serving as a bridge between marginalized communities and the policymakers and leaders who serve them.
Mia received a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in African American Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles.