Press

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pr@obvious.com

Location

Obvious Ventures is located two blocks from The Embarcadero in San Francisco, on the northwest corner of Sydney Walton Park. If you see the red brick building where Pacific Avenue runs into Front Street, you're in the right place.

190 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94111

Shereef Elnahal

Obvious Champion

Shereef Elnahal was U.S. Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health in the Biden Administration, and formerly the president and CEO of University Hospital.

During his tenure in the Biden Administration, Dr. Elnahal oversaw the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) implementation of the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, the largest expansion of Veteran benefits in a generation. Under his direction, VHA also embarked on an aggressive hiring effort, growing its workforce at historic rates.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Elnahal served as President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital in Newark, NJ from 2019 through 2022, leading the hospital through the COVID-19 public health emergency and providing a model for urban hospital and regional response efforts. Under his leadership, the hospital also realized substantial improvements in care quality and patient safety against national benchmarks.
Previously, Dr. Elnahal served as New Jersey’s 21st Health Commissioner, appointed to the Cabinet post by Governor Phil Murphy and confirmed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate. During his nearly two years as Commissioner, he expanded the New Jersey Health Information Network, worked to improve infant and maternal health outcomes and reduce health disparities, and made strides in curbing the opioid epidemic.
Dr. Elnahal holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and an M.B.A. with Distinction from Harvard Business School.