“The theme of my service as NACCHO President centered upon Transformational Leadership, which continues to inspire public health professionals to identify with something larger than themselves, evolving a motivational vision that is communicated to the group, and executing the transformational change with the commitment of the members of the group.”
Washington, DC, July 2, 2020—The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has announced that George T. Roberts, Jr. , MHA, FACHE, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District, is now Immediate Past President of the NACCHO Board of Directors. NACCHO is the voice of the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments. He began his one-year term as Immediate Past President on July 1, 2020.
“I am passionate about local health departments maximizing the multiple opportunities to exemplify their leadership traits and to develop future public health leaders from their local communities,” says Mr. Roberts. “The theme of my service as NACCHO President centered upon Transformational Leadership, which continues to inspire public health professionals to identify with something larger than themselves, evolving a motivational vision that is communicated to the group, and executing the transformational change with the commitment of the members of the group.”
“George has been a long-standing volunteer leader within NACCHO and has contributed significant amounts of time, energy, and expertise to the organization over the past several years at the highest levels of NACCHO’s leadership. I congratulate George on successfully navigating a challenging year for public health as NACCHO’s President and look forward to his continued participation as our Immediate Past President,” said NACCHO’s CEO Lori Tremmel Freeman, MBA.
Mr. Roberts led the organization during the Covid-19 pandemic, a particularly demanding time for the local health departments NACCHO supports. He spoke in Washington, DC at the National Press Club early in the pandemic discussing public health’s leading role in the response.
About Mr. Roberts
George T. Roberts, Jr., has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) since November 2006. NET Health is the Local Health Department (LHD) for the City of Tyler and Smith County, Texas, and is a political subdivision established under the State of Texas. NET Health primarily serves Tyler and Smith County but also provides services in 21 counties in East Texas. The WIC Program serves a 20 county area and Public Health Preparedness serves a seven county region.
Mr. Roberts has 40 years of health care experience, the majority of which was spent in hospital administration, having previously served at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, and Henderson Memorial Hospital in Henderson, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from SMU in Dallas and a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Roberts is active in a number of church, community, state, and national efforts.
About NACCHO’s Board of Directors
NACCHO is governed by a 22-member board comprising local and tribal health officials who are elected by their peers, as well as three ex-officio members representing partner organizations.
As the governing body, NACCHO’s Board of Directors establishes the association’s strategic direction and initiatives, sets the annual legislative agenda, approves official policy statements, ensures that annual goals are met, and provides financial oversight. The Board is NACCHO’s public face and represents members in matters of policy, public health practice, and collaboration with health partners in the public and private sectors.
NACCHO’s Board is led by four executive officers. In addition to Roberts, this includes:
- President, Jennifer C. Kertanis, Director of Health, Farmington Valley Health District, CT
- President-Elect, Sandra Elizabeth Ford, MD, MBA, District Health Director of DeKalb County Health Department, GA
- Vice President, Lisa Macon Harrison, MPH, Local Health Director, Granville Vance Public Health
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About the Northeast Texas Public Health District
The Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) serves a vital function for area citizens through the Center for Healthy Living, Community Outreach, Environmental Health, Immunizations, Tuberculosis Control, Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Regional Laboratory, Vital Statistics, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program. NET Health is a recipient of several NACCHO Model Practice Awards, including our refurbished fire station that now operates at The NET Health Center for Healthy Living and the “Emergency Preparedness and Recovery: A Toolkit for Rural Communities” that evolved from local emergency response to catastrophic tornadoes in rural East Texas counties. The mission of NET Health is to “prevent illness, promote health, and protect our community”. For more information, please visit https://www.mMyNETHealth.org.
About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.
