Dr. Sofia Adawy Akintunde

Dr. Sofia Adawy Akintunde is a Family Medicine physician and executive health leader who has dedicated her entire professional career to public service. A first-generation Egyptian American from the Chicago area, she brings a powerful blend of clinical expertise, lived experience, and advocacy to her leadership—bridging spirituality, justice, and healing through community-centered care.

 

She currently serves as Chief Medical Officer of the South Side Healthy Community Organization (SSHCO), where she leads value-based healthcare strategy and innovation across a coalition of 13 partner organizations serving Chicago’s South Side.

 

Previously, Dr. Sofia was Chief Health Officer for Chicago Public Schools, reporting jointly to the CEO of CPS and the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. In this role, she directed health services and public health initiatives for the fourth largest school district in the United States and established CPS as a national model for school-based opioid crisis response.

 

Prior to that, Dr. Sofia led the health center at the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), overseeing its transformation into a Federally Qualified Health Center and guiding its clinical and public health response through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

A breast cancer survivor and mother, Dr. Sofia draws from both professional expertise and personal experience in her commitment to healing. She is enthusiastic about food, fashion, niche pockets of history, supporting living artists, and being near the ocean. She lives in Chicago with her husband and their two young children.