Briggs steps down as director of Olmsted County Public Health

After three years on the job, Graham Briggs is stepping down from his position as director of Olmsted County Public Health.

The county made the announcement Wednesday.

For the past 22 months, Briggs had been responsible for overseeing the county’s response to Covid-19.

In a statement, Olmsted County Administrator Heidi Welsch called Briggs a “trusted leader for our entire community,” and expressed gratitude for keeping the county well-informed through the pandemic.

“Graham led the department, county, local businesses, and community through a generational pandemic,” Welsch said in a statement. “His expertise and leadership were a fixture for our residents.”  

Before signing off, Briggs said he was proud of the public health department’s response to the pandemic.

“It’s taken a community-wide effort to navigate through the last couple of years and our efforts have saved lives,” said Briggs. “Olmsted County is in a position to emerge from the pandemic more quickly with a rebounding economy and stronger ties between all of our residents.”

In addition to directing the county’s Covid response, Briggs also oversaw the passage of the county’s ordinance changing the age for tobacco use to 21 years, a move late adopted by the state of Minnesota.

In 2019, he was recognized as the “Emerging Public Health Leader of the Year” by Minnesota’s Local Public Health Association.

Olmsted County says it will soon begin the search for a new public health director. In the meantime, associate directors Denise Daniels and Michael Melius will share leadership duties for the department.