Healey appoints Jon Santiago as first veterans' affairs secretary

Gov. Healey announced today she is appointing State Rep. Jon Santiago of the South End to the new position of secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans' Services.

In addition to his job as state rep, Santiago is a major in the US Army Reserve, and an emergency-room physician at Boston Medical Center. He was first elected in 2018.

Santiago's new job stems from the Holyoke Soldiers Home Covid-19 scandal in 2020.

He was be sworn in March 1.

In a statement, Healey said:

Representative Santiago has dedicated his life to serving his country – whether that’s volunteering for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, working in the emergency room throughout COVID, being deployed overseas with the U.S. Army Reserve, or advocating for increased access to housing, public transportation and substance use disorder treatment in the State House. His public health expertise and military service make him uniquely qualified to serve as Massachusetts’ first ever Secretary of Veterans’ Services. I’m confident that he will be the leader our veterans need and deserve and will always stand up for their health, safety and wellbeing.”