Monique Anthony, MPH, CHES has been named director of the Office of Minority Health and Disparities Elimination at the Tennessee Department of Health. She comes to this position after serving as the office's director of community capacity building since August 2016.

"Monique has dedicated her career to improving population health and is passionate about patient advocacy, building community engagement and reducing health disparities," said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. "She has extensive experience in cultivating partnerships and innovation and has already proven to be a dedicated advocate for vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in her role as acting director, so I am especially pleased she will take on this important leadership role going forward."

In her role as director of minority health, Anthony will provide administrative, financial and operational leadership and oversight for programming to reduce health disparities and improve overall health and well-being of minority populations, especially racial and ethnic minority populations across the state. She will manage a budget of $1.1 million and five staff members. She will facilitate and advocate for the development of policies, programs and services that appropriately respond to the cultural and diverse needs of populations throughout Tennessee.

"I am humbled to have the opportunity to contribute beyond myself to a mission of service" said Anthony. "This is a challenge I embrace and I hope to produce meaningful impact in reducing health disparities. I am grateful to have the privilege to work with the most talented colleagues across state government, partner organizations and communities."

Anthony has been serving as interim director of the TDH Office of Minority Health and Disparities Elimination since July 2017. She was promoted from her position as director of community capacity building, in which she collaborated with regional and state agencies, grassroots organizations, community-based and faith-based organizations and others on programs, services and initiatives to improve the health of diverse populations in Tennessee.

Prior to joining the Tennessee Department of Health, Anthony served as program coordinator at Meharry Medical College in Nashville managing the SECURE/Gulf Coast Transdisciplinary Research Recovery Center for Community Health grant. This research grant brought together a consortium of seven medical and public health institutions to address challenges affecting the health of those living in Gulf Coast communities prone to disasters and environmental contamination.

Anthony holds a Master of Public Health degree from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga. She is a certified health education specialist and a member of the Tennessee Public Health Association, the Meharry Medical College Institutional Biosafety Committee and the Tennessee Cancer Coalition, in which she serves as co-chair of the executive committee. She is also a member of LEAD Tennessee Alliance 9. Anthony is active in community service with a number of organizations.