For the first time in more than a year, Montgomery County has a full-time Health Officer.

Dr. Kisha Davis, a family physician from Gaithersburg, was appointed by the county council Tuesday. She assumes a role that has been vacant since August 2021 after Dr. Travis Gayles stepped down.

Deputy Health Officer Dr. James Bridgers has served as Acting Health Officer in the interim.

A Montgomery County native, Davis most recently served as Vice President of Health Equity for the Bethesda-based Aledade company, which works with health centers, clinics, and private health practices to support the delivery of patient care. She previously served as project manager for the Family Medicine for America’s Health Project, a primary care collaboration, and as Medical Director for CHI Healthcare in Gaithersburg.

In her new role, Davis will spearhead the county’s public health agenda. She will lead efforts on disease control and prevention, as well as addressing and eliminating existing health inequities, and will collaborate with the state Department of Health to coordinate plans and implement State health policies. According to a memorandum from County Executive Marc Elrich, Davis will receive a salary of $200,000.

“At my core, I am a collaborator and look forward to working with the Council and Board of Health with meeting the health needs of Montgomery County,” Davis said during her interview with the county council Tuesday.

When asked by Council President Gabe Albornoz how she plans to approach the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis said she plans to lead collaboratively. “I am not coming in to fix it; I am coming to work on a team that is well-established and working well.”

She also said she is committed to addressing public health disparities in the county.

“Intentionally working to identify and mitigate existing disparities is necessary, it is not enough. We must continue to ensure that we are building systems that do not perpetuate the systemic racial and class-based inequities that we see,” she said, citing education and housing as examples of areas for growth.

Council Vice President Evan Glass assured Davis the council would have her back.

Davis’ predecessor, Dr. Travis Gayles, resigned in August 2021 after a five-year tenure to become Chief Health Officer with the San Francisco-based telehealth startup Hazel Health. During the last 18 months in the role, Gayles became the face of the county’s COVID-19 mitigation strategy. Under his leadership, the county received praise for its handling of the pandemic, achieving some of the state’s highest vaccination rates. Gayles later revealed he had become a target of racist harassment.

For his work in the role, Gayles received the American Medical Association’s Award for Outstanding Government Service earlier this year.

In order to qualify for the role of health officer, an individual must be licensed to practice medicine in the state, hold a master’s degree in public health, and have at least two years of experience working in the public health field. County health officers are employees of both the state of Maryland and the counties for which they serve. Each is nominated by the County Executive and is appointed by the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health.