Steve Ferrara, MD, FSIR, FACR has always been a man of science, double board-certified in Diagnostic, Vascular, and Interventional Radiology, with a focused commitment to both treatment and prevention of complex disease. He works for the Department of Defense as the Deputy Director for Clinical Operations and Chief of Clinical Optimization for the National Capital Region  – the military’s largest Market, comprising 7 major facilities including the renowned Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and caring for >500,000 beneficiaries with an annual budget >$1.6B. Steve maintains an active clinical Interventional Radiology practice at Walter Reed and is a Clinical Professor of Radiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

In addition to his impressive medical career, Steve Ferrara also has a long and distinguished military record. Steve served as a Captain in the Navy, becoming its Chief Medical Officer and guiding a world-class health system of 63,000 medical personnel. He had multiple deployments with the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps throughout his 25-year Naval career, including combat, humanitarian, and disaster relief missions. 

While Steve Ferrara served as a Battalion Surgeon on tour in Kandahar, Afghanistan, he was instrumental in changing how the U.S. military looked at combat casualty care. While volunteering at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit, an incredibly busy trauma and casualty center, Steve taught life- and limb-saving endovascular surgical techniques never before seen on the battlefield.

Because of his impressive military and medical career, Steve has had the honor of accepting a number of different accolades and awards. He’s been awarded the Legion of Merit and the Defense Meritorious Service Medals, among other accolades. Not only that, but he has also held different senior civilian and academic positions in specialty societies and healthcare organizations. One thing that sets Steve apart from the crowd is his ability to have genuine compassion for both the people he works for and the clients he works with. Throughout all of his endeavors, both personal and professional, he’s incredibly compassionate, always having the client’s best interest in mind. 

Steve is committed to achieving equitable and affordable healthcare for all Americans. He was selected to the highly prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Academy of Medicine Congressional Fellowship where he served in the 113th Congress. Steve was instrumental in drafting significant legislation that transformed the healthcare payment system to finally prioritize quality and accessibility. Prior to being signed into law, the $160B legislation passed out of the Health Subcommittee unanimously (51-0), a rare achievement in the current political environment, thanks not only to its outstanding policy attributes but to Steve’s collaborative skills and sense of bipartisanship. 

Steve received his Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1991. Following graduation, he was commissioned as an Ensign and entered the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences –  F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine where he began his 25-year Naval career. 

Steve completed a surgical internship and diagnostic radiology residency at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego before going on to fellowship training in vascular and interventional radiology at the University of California, San Diego and Boston Children’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School).

Steve is a nationally-renowned speaker and writer on vascular and interventional radiology, healthcare policy, and economics, along with issues closest to his heart, such as civil rights, social action, disaster and humanitarian relief, poverty alleviation, and human rights.

Read more about Steve Ferrara at steveferrara.co.