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SALT LAKE CITY — Dr. Angela Dunn, who became a key figure in the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response, announced Thursday she’s stepping down to take a job in the federal government.
Dunn will leave her post as executive director at the Salt Lake County Health Department on Feb. 16 to take a job with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she will help state and local health departments across the nation get federal resources, county officials said.
Dunn has no plans to relocate for her new job, but said she will miss working with her colleagues at the county health department.
“I am fortunate to have such a passionate, talented and dedicated team here at (the health department). Despite being exhausted mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically, the team wanted to use the pandemic to improve their public health practice,” she said in a statement. “They found the strength and will to persevere, supported by a strong and resilient leadership team.”
Dunn previously worked for the CDC, where she responded to the ebola epidemic that struck West Africa a decade ago. She was eventually named state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health in 2018.
She became a household name in Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic, fielding questions during daily media briefings, and offering advice and insight to political leaders and the general public as knowledge of the disease shifted in real-time.
Dunn also became a target for those who pushed against Utah’s pandemic-related restrictions at the time. Some even protested outside of her Salt Lake City house, which drew criticism from then-Gov. Gary Herbert and other local leaders.
She eventually left her role with the state in 2021 to oversee the Salt Lake County Health Department, where she has been since. County officials said Thursday they will “immediately” begin a search for her replacement.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said it was a “pleasure” to work with Dunn over the past few years and wishes her “the very best in the future.”
“Her ability to make critical decisions, grounded in science and compassion, has been invaluable to our community during challenges such as the COVID pandemic and beyond,” Wilson said. “I have no doubt that she will continue to make a profound impact on public health.”
