Reno/Sparks, Nev. March 28, 2024 – The District Board of Health (DBOH) selected Chad Kingsley, MD, MBA, as the new District Health Officer for Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) at its meeting Thursday.

The decision to select Kingsley will become official upon the agreement of an employment contract between Kingsley and NNPH, which is expected to be announced in April.

In all, three candidates were interviewed on Thursday to replace current District Health Officer Kevin Dick, who is retiring.

“We were thrilled to have so much interest nationally with this very important position for our community,” said Kristopher Dahir, Chair of the District Board of Health and current Sparks City Councilperson. “I was pleased that after a rigorous process that Chad Kingsley was selected. We will get to work quickly with him to make this selection official so that we can continue to best serve the public health needs in Northern Nevada.”

The Board plans to meet in April to finalize the employment agreement. In the event an agreement isn’t reached, DBOH members will work with the next highest ranked candidate, which was Rebecca Nanyonjo, DrPH.

Kingsley is the Public Health Director for Mohave County in Kingman, Ariz. Prior, he worked with Southern Nevada Health District from 2012-2022. From 2009-2011 he was a clinical physician/local health officer in Mexico. Kingsley has a Medical Degree (MD) from Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Western Governors University. More information about Kingsley can be found in the DBOH agenda link here.

NNPH, formerly the Washoe County Health District, held a nationwide search for a new District Health Officer. The position opened on Jan. 8, 2024, and closed Feb. 5, 2024.

More than 90 people applied for the position. Eight candidates were selected to the next round for virtual interviews. Three candidates were selected for in-person interviews.

Kevin Dick, who has been the District Health Officer since 2013, plans to retire toward the end of April and will be available for the transition to a new leader of the organization.

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Please note the Washoe County Health District changed its name to Northern Nevada Public Health on Aug. 31, 2023. More information is here.

Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making District Board of Health. NNPH consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.