Alicia Thompson, MSW Alumna Selected as Administrative Officer for the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD)

Congratulations to Alicia Thompson, a graduate of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Eastern, who has been selected as the Administrative Officer for the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) by their Board of Health (BOH) after a nationwide search.

Here are a few highlights from the SRHD Press Release Nov 11th:

The administrative officer provides overall leadership for the successful operation of SRHD, including the establishment and implementation of public health policies and programs to promote and protect the health of the citizens of Spokane County. Working at the direction of the BOH, the administrative officer’s responsibilities include enforcing local and state public health laws, serving as chief executive officer for the health district and providing leadership to SRHD staff.

“The board of health is delighted to welcome Alicia Thompson as our administrative officer,” said Kevin Freeman, Mayor of the City of Millwood and SRHD BOH chair. “Both staff and the board are enthusiastic about the public health skills, knowledge and experience Dr. Thompson will bring to our work for a healthier Spokane region.”

Thompson commented, “I am so honored and elated to lead Spokane Regional Health District. By accepting this position, I have come full circle. Spokane County is where my love of public health began, and returning to Spokane to lead SRHD has been goal of mine for a long time.”

Thompson has worked in the public health and nonprofit sectors for more than 25 years. Her career in public health began in Spokane, Wash., where she graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and, after time in the Air National Guard, graduated from Whitworth University with her Bachelor of Arts Cum Laude and from Eastern Washington University with a Master’s in the social work program.

Her leadership experience in public health includes deputy director of the Cowlitz County Health & Human Services department here in Washington, and health director and chief executive officer of the Cascade City-County Health Department in Great Falls, Mont.

Thompson then moved to Arizona where she received her Doctor of Public Health Policy and Management at the University of Arizona and gained additional experience as the dental department manager of El Rio, the health director for Cochise County, Ariz., and is currently the chief operations officer of Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc.