January 20, 2022
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann announced on January 20 that she plans to retire February 2.
Ehresmann has become familiar to many Minnesotans as a key leader of Minnesota’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
Along with her leadership on COVID-19, Ehresmann played leading roles in many public health issues in recent years, including Minnesota's measles outbreak in 2017, Ebola preparedness in 2014, the fungal meningitis investigation and response of 2012, H1N1 pandemic response in 2009, post-9/11 readiness work in the early 2000s, and dozens of other high-profile public health issues.
“On behalf of the MMA, I want to thank Kris for her incredible career dedicated to the health of Minnesotans,” said Janet Silversmith, MMA CEO. “An extremely eloquent and effective communicator, Kris has been an invaluable partner to the MMA in our shared goal of reducing vaccine-preventable illness. Minnesotans were very well served by her leadership throughout the pandemic, and we wish her all the best in a well-deserved retirement.”
Ehresmann has added a Minnesota perspective to many national partnerships, including the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the Association of State and Territorial Health Offices Infectious Disease Policy Committee, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). At the time of her ACIP appointment, she was only the second nurse ever named to that advisory panel of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Serving as the director of the infectious disease division has been one of the great honors of my life,” Ehresmann said. “Like so many people who have worked in a job they love, I have mixed feelings about saying goodbye. That said, it has been my privilege to work with an amazing team and I have every confidence I am handing the baton to the best in the business.”
Emily Emerson, the current assistant director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division, will assume the role of interim director. MDH will launch a national search for a new director.
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