Angela Dunn, who guided Utah through early pandemic, leaving SLCo Health for CDC

Dr. Angela Dunn, a very familiar face to Utahns when she guided the state through the intense early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in her then-role as state epidemiologist, has accepted a job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Her last day as director of the Salt Lake County Health Department, a position she assumed in June 2021, will be Feb. 16, she told her county health team Thursday.

Dunn, who is a physician with a master of public health degree, provided daily updates on the pandemic for weeks as it was sweeping the nation in its earliest, deadliest stages when there were no vaccines and people were divided on what control measures should be taken, such as masking and social distancing.

Asked by the Deseret News Thursday what made her most proud from her time leading the county health department, Dunn said: “I’m most proud of creating a team culture of collaboration, compassion and open-mindedness. SLCoHD has a leadership team that values differing perspectives and seeks out learning new things. We are a team that has each other’s backs, creating a strong health department that puts the community at the center of all we do.”

Earlier in the day, in a written statement, she said the hardest part about moving on is “leaving the honor of working side-by-side with each and every one of the Salt Lake County Health Department staff. I am fortunate to have such a passionate, talented and dedicated team here. Despite being exhausted mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically, the team wanted to use the pandemic to improve their public health practice. They found the strength and will to persevere, supported by a strong and resilient leadership team.”

During her tenure at the helm of the department, she brought a passion for data, innovation and community outreach and involvement as the department reorganized and dealt with everything from contact tracing of COVID-19 to the 2022 monkeypox outbreak.

Communicating clearly

In a 2022 Deseret News interview, Dunn said that her parents prioritized speaking clearly and well when she was a child, which helped prepare her for the role of state spokesperson during the unprecedented public health crisis that unfolded in early 2020.

“While many raved about her concise and jargon-free media briefings (Gov. Spencer Cox wore an “I (Heart) Dr. Dunn” T-shirt at her last media briefing), Dunn also faced many naysayers and even threats. But through it all, she continued to emphasize information over politics,” the article noted.

She credited the crisis with helping develop her leadership skills but noted that “we as leaders should never seek people who just fluff our feathers. We should seek out people who are open enough to disagree with us in a respectful manner.”

Besides the shock of the pandemic and its impact, there was political turmoil and sometimes the two overlapped. And especially early on there was considerable disagreement, not all of it respectful.

In 2020, Utahns who didn’t like the state health department’s mask mandates targeted Dunn, who was the messenger during the state’s regular COVID-19 briefings.

Her supporters were just as staunch.

“Protesters who gathered at Dunn’s Salt Lake home in an Avenues neighborhood were met by neighbors who were determined to make any gathering difficult and uncomfortable,” Deseret News reported. “They called police, hung signs of support for Dunn and confronted protesters as to what they hoped to accomplish by protesting a civil servant who doesn’t have the power to institute or repeal mask mandates.”

In both her state and county roles, Dunn has been hailed as a “steady voice” during public health crises.

In a written statement, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson praised Dunn’s “ability to make critical decisions, grounded in science and compassion,” which she called “invaluable to our community.”

“Her passion for public health has left a lasting impact on the department and board,” said Dan Eckersley, chair of the Salt Lake County Board of Health. “We commend her leadership, expertise and commitment to improving health outcomes for everyone in Salt Lake County.”

Nicholas Rupp, department spokesman, said, “I regularly hear from department staff about how impressed they are by Dr. Dunn’s transparency and approachability as a leader. She is genuinely dedicated to cultivating a supportive, productive and fulfilling workplace — to the benefit of both department employees and county residents.”

While Dunn is leaving the department, she’s not leaving Utah as she works for the CDC. Her new title is division director, Investigation and Response, Office of Public Health Data and Technology. The division focuses on ensuring state and local health departments have the resources needed to investigate and respond to public health threats.

The CDC is familiar territory for Dunn, who previously served as an epidemic intelligence service officer for the national public health organization. She was part of a team that responded to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2016 and to infectious disease outbreaks in Utah, including measles, hepatitis C and campylobacter.

Her bio says she earned her medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in 2010 and her master’s degree in epidemiology from San Diego State University in 2013. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in international relations from Brown University in 2003. She is the board president of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.