The Region 6 Office, based in Dallas, Texas serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as 68 federally recognized tribal nations.
Region 6 is the third most populated among the 10 regions, with roughly 13% of the U.S. population. The region includes the second largest Hispanic population of any Region in the country, covering two-thirds of the US-Mexico Border. Region 6 is also home to over 750,000 Native Americans out of the 2,907,272 Native Americans Nationwide. Texas is home to the largest non-Hispanic Black population of any state in the nation according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Chronic disease prevention, vaccinations, maternal morbidity and mortality, substance use and harm reduction programs, access to health coverage, health equity, and the social determinants of health are critical priority areas. Region 6 works collaboratively with local and state health departments, community organizations, and other stakeholders with common health goals to address the needs of the Region 6 community.
Stay Connected with Region 6
For more information or if you’d like to subscribe to our distribution lists, please contact: LT Monica Geiger
Region 6 Health Operations Staff
Region 6 Regional Health Administrator
CAPT Mehran S. Massoudi, PhD, MPH
[email protected]
CAPT Mehran S. Massoudi, PhD, MPH was appointed as Regional Health Administrator (RHA) for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Region 6, in October 2016. Dr. Massoudi is a Commissioned Corps officer in the US Public Health Service, having served since 1994, and holds the rank of Captain. He is the senior federal health official representing the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) in Region 6.
Prior to joining OASH, Dr. Massoudi served as the Branch Chief for the Applied Research and Translation Branch (ARTB) and the Director of the Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA. In addition to the PRC Program, the Branch also included the Healthy Aging and the Workplace Health Programs. CAPT Massoudi has served as the Associate Director for Science in the Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services. Over the course of his professional career, he has served as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 1994, the science advisor to the Smallpox Team at CDC’s National Immunization Program, the SARS Surveillance Team Lead in CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases, and the Associate Director for Science in the Office of Workforce and Career Development. From 2005 to 2007, he oversaw the development of the Afghan Public Health Institute (APHI) within the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health. He trained and mentored APHI staff and assisted with the ministry’s response to the avian influenza outbreaks of 2005-2006. Beyond his regularly assigned duties at CDC, CAPT Massoudi has also completed five international deployments for CDC and the World Health Organization as part of the Polio Eradication Initiative. He has also traveled to Haiti as part of the Department’s health and medical response, and, most recently, deployed as Lead for the Epi Team in Grand Cape Mount, Liberia for the Ebola Response. CAPT Massoudi holds a PhD in epidemiology and an MPH degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Senior Public Health Advisor
Sarah Schildecker, MPH
[email protected]
Regional Minority Health Analyst
Ella Ewart-Pierce, MPH, MA
[email protected]
Regional Women’s Health Analyst
LT Monica Geiger, RN, MSN, CCHP
[email protected]
