Acting Health Director Gayle Bridges Harris has been named Health Director by the Durham County Board of Health.She succeeds Brian Letourneau, who recently retired after ten years of service as the Health Director.
In making the appointment, Health Board Chairman Bill Burch said, “It is with great pleasure that the Board of Health appoints Gayle Harris as Durham County Health Director.Gayle has been with the Health Department over thirty years serving the citizens of Durham County.Having served as assistant Health Director since 2002 she has proved herself to be a well informed, articulate and diplomatic representative of the department in her interactions with the Board of Health, county administrators, and the Durham County community partners with whom she works.”
Gayle Harris began her professional career at Durham County Health Department in 1972 as a Public Heath Nurse and has held progressively more responsible positions in the agency, including Director of Nursing, Assistant Health Director and Acting Health Director.
In accepting the position, Ms. Harris responded, “Being afforded this opportunity is the highlight of my career! I look forward to continuing to work with the great health department staff and our wonderful community partners. ”
Ms. Harris received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Duke University School of Nursing and a Master of Public Health degree from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Her professional affiliations include memberships in the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors, North Carolina Nurses Association, and American Nurses Association. She was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in 1990. In 1995, the UNC School of Public Health presented her with the Distinguished Alumnus Award for Public Health Nursing.
Ms. Harris will assume her new duties on February 1, 2009
