Salt Lake County Board of Health Names New Health Officer

The Salt Lake County Board of Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Dorothy Adams as Salt Lake County’s local health officer and executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD). Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson has ratified Adams’ appointment. Adams replaces Dr. Angela Dunn, who left the department on February 16 for a position with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adams has been interim executive director since Dr. Dunn’s departure; she had previously been the department’s deputy director since 2014.

“We are excited to have Dorothy continue her leadership of the Salt Lake County Health Department,” Mayor Wilson said. “She has been a steadfast leader and valuable public health advocate for decades, and she’s respected in public health circles nationwide for spearheading innovations in environmental health and her dedication to community-focused and data-driven services for county residents.”

Adams holds a degree in resource economics from the University of New Hampshire as well as a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a licensed environmental scientist and has completed several local and national leadership training programs, including the Kresge Foundation’s Emerging Leaders in Public Health program, the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health, and the Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute.

Adams began working for the Salt Lake City-County Health Department in August 1987. The next year, she created the department’s household hazardous waste collection program, which in 2023 diverted more than 1.3 million pounds of waste from area landfills and ensured it was reused, recycled, or properly disposed.

During her 37 years with Salt Lake County Health Department, Adams also led the department’s efforts to become accredited through the Public Health Accreditation Board and helped create Utah’s used tire legislation that prompted the cleanup of millions of abandoned tires statewide. Additionally, she managed the logistics branch of the county’s COVID response to ensure the organization could support the more than 500 additional staff necessary to respond to the pandemic.

“Dorothy has a keen understanding of the public health needs for Salt Lake County and its diverse communities,” said Kelly Colopy, director of the Salt Lake County Human Services Department, which includes SLCoHD. “She will continue to bring an excellence and innovation mindset to the department as we move into the future of public health.”

Salt Lake County Health Department is one of the largest local health departments in the nation, serving over 1.2 million residents. In 2019, the National Association of County and City Health Officials named SLCoHD “Local Health Department of the Year” in recognition of its exemplary public health work.

“I’m honored to move into this new role among the incredible and dedicated public health professionals at Salt Lake County Health Department,” Adams said. “I’ve been privileged to serve the people of Salt Lake County for many years and am excited to continue our work promoting and protecting community and environmental health.”