A Practitioner for Progress: How Dr. Nathan T. Chomilo (‘01) drives justice and change in healthcare

“Children learn more from what you are than what you teach,” W.E.B. Du Bois, American sociologist and civil rights activist, once said.

Dr. Nathan T. Chomilo is many things: a general pediatrician and hospital internist; a racial and health equity advocate; the Medicaid medical director for the state of Minnesota; an Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow; a board member of Reach Out and Read, a nonprofit that promotes early literacy and school readiness; a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate and adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics; a lifelong soccer player; the son of a Cameroonian immigrant father; a husband to Jenny; and a father to two boys, Nchare and Nji. And he’s an Eagle, too — a graduate of the Class of 2001.

He may be a doctor, but Chomilo teaches by example for the children and young adults he encounters every day as a pediatrician, state medical director, literacy advocate, educator, mentor, and dad. One of his great motivators is using his intersectional experiences and healthcare expertise to push our health systems forward for the next generation.

“I’ve come to realize that many of these conversations we are having about health and racial disparities in health outcomes have been going on for 30 years or more,” Chomilo observed. “I don’t want my sons to have these same conversations and be in the same place in 30 years. I want them to have more freedom and choice regarding what challenges to tackle and how they live their lives.”

Chomilo grew up in Eden Prairie from the age of 10 after his family moved back to Minnesota to be closer to relatives from Cameroon. Despite growing up in a household with a nurse and pharmacist for parents, Chomilo admitted he first dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot in the Air Force. It wasn’t until an anatomy lesson in Linda Turnquist’s biology class at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) that he began to develop a serious interest of his own in medical studies. It’s a lesson he echoes to teens today.

“I tell them that if they are unsure of what they want to do when they grow up, start with thinking about things that you are really interested in or that excite you,” Chomilo advised. “If there are classes that you love to go to or come naturally to you, ask your teachers and parents about what careers might be available in those fields. Start there instead of thinking of how much money you will make or how famous you might become. Because if you are able to find work that aligns with your passions and skills, you will be best set up to make the biggest impact possible.”

After graduating from EPHS, Chomilo earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Miami University in Ohio in 2005. He then returned to Minnesota to attend medical school and complete his residencies at the University of Minnesota. 

Since entering practice as a general pediatrician and hospital internist, Chomilo credits the patients, families, and communities he has served as personal sources of support, encouragement and resilience.

“The trust that they place in me to share the highs and lows of their lives,” he explained, “both fuels my own work to change the healthcare system and remove barriers where possible, and provides perspective into my own challenges and how they compare to those of others in my community.”

One of his many passions is literacy, for youth and adult patients alike. Chomilo pointed to data that suggests future outcomes are linked to early childhood literacy, especially within the first five years of development. To help the cause, he joined the Minnesota chapter of Reach Out and Read in 2010. In 2019, Minneapolis was recognized as a “Bookend City” by the national Reach Out and Read organization. For his efforts in helping the city receive the honor, Chomilo was named a 2019 History Maker at Home by the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. 

“That award in particular really reaffirmed the work I do,” he emphasized. “And it inspired me to continue the work so that I can live up to the legacy of that recognition.”

In January 2020, Chomilo became the Medicaid medical director at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It wasn’t long until he was put to the test by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising to the occasion as he had so many times before, Chomilo helped lead the state’s vaccine response by viewing the data through an equity lens and working directly with community partners.

“We were able to significantly decrease the disparities in our vaccine rates in different communities across Minnesota,” he said.

Chomilo is also proud of his team’s work on a
2022 report that, per the report, “[built] racial equity into the walls of Minnesota Medicaid” by studying health outcomes for U.S.-born Black Minnesotans. It has helped put a national spotlight on centering “communities most impacted by structural racism” in setting health equity priorities in policymaking.

That report “has also led to the passing of legislation that has already improved access to healthcare for Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, and those from disadvantaged neighborhoods across the state,” Chomilo added.

Though he has felt called to “show up” in so many ways to “advance health and racial equity and justice in our society,” Chomilo underscored that there are many other ways to affect change and create a “more just, safe and fair world for our children, our grandchildren, and beyond.”

“What doesn’t help is doing nothing; accepting the status quo,” he cautioned. “We as a society got here through a number of actions, small and big, and through many conversations, personal and public. So the way we get to a better place for us all is by everyone doing their part where they can, whenever they can.”