2022 Power 50: Dr. Matilde Castiel
Photo | Matt Wright
Dr. Matilde Castiel, commissioner of health and human services at the City of Worcester
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Dr. Matilde Castiel has been on the front lines in the battle against not only COVID-19, but other problems plaguing the region, such as opioid addiction and hepatitis A.
Castiel’s main passion in fighting these problems is making sure underserved and marginalized populations get equal access to care, as she is driven to change the structural and systemic racism that causes poor outcomes. A native to Cuba who emigrated to the U.S. via Operation Peter Pan, Castiel is one of two people of color – and the only woman of color – in the 17-member Worcester city manager’s cabinet, and she sees a big part of her role as providing a voice for underrepresented communities. These efforts have paid off in a number of ways, as Castiel helped Worcester to be selected as one of 10 Massachusetts cities to provide equity vaccines, and she and her team went into communities with lower vaccination rates to provide education, treatment, and boosters.
She runs or helps run the mayor’s mental health task force, the COVID-19 health equity task force, and the Task Force for Sustaining Housing First Solutions.
What sets the Central Mass. business community apart from the rest of the world? Our partnerships are incredibly important. We have all come together, in an unprecedented manner, to provide support and talent, along with financial assistance to improve the quality of life for all groups in our community. We truly are a model for the state.
Family first: I am a first-time grandmother to 3-month-old Owen. I enjoy spending time with him and hopefully will get a chance to really teach him Spanish, which I didn’t get to do much with my own kids. My youngest son will be presenting his thesis for his Ph.D. in April in cellular Biology, and my daughter at the same time matched in OB-GYN.
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