Biography
Amy Acton is a physician and public health researcher from Youngstown who served as Ohio Department of Health director under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine from 2019 to 2020, leading the state's early COVID-19 response. She is the Democratic nominee for governor, running with David Pepper. Her campaign centers on an affordability agenda that includes child tax credits, an online prescription-drug platform called Ohio Rx, and a conditional moratorium on data-center expansion.[1][2][3]
Amy Acton was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and earned a bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University and a medical degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 1990.[1] She completed residencies in pediatrics and preventive medicine and earned a master's in public health from Ohio State University.[1]
Acton taught public health at Ohio State University, where an Associated Press report describes her as an associate professor, and worked at the Columbus Foundation.[1][4] Gov. Mike DeWine appointed her Director of the Ohio Department of Health in February 2019; she left the post in June 2020.[1] She remained as the governor's chief health adviser until August 2020.[4]
After leaving state government, Acton returned to the Columbus Foundation and later directed the city of Columbus's Project L.O.V.E., a childhood vaccination initiative.[1][4] She has not previously held elective office and launched her campaign for governor in January 2025.[4]
- 1.Amy Acton · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 2.Ohio governor race: Acton releases lots of affordability ideas, but few specifics on funding them · Statehouse News Bureau / WYSU · 2026-04-06 News report
- 3.Acton lands Ohio firefighters endorsement, pitches affordability agenda in governor's race · FOX19 NOW (WXIX) · 2026-08-05 News report
- 4.Dr. Amy Acton, who helped lead Ohio's early pandemic response, joins 2026 governor's race · 13abc (Associated Press) · 2025-01-07 News report
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.