GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — The Pitt County Board of Health has named Wes Gray as its new health director, Pitt County Government announced on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

The decision was made on Tuesday during the board’s meeting. He takes over for Teresa Ellen, who has served as interim health director since April 10. She replaced Dr. John Silvernail, who announced on March 28 that he was resigning.

Gray starts his new job on Oct. 16. Pitt County Public Health also announced Angie Manning was named public health deputy director effective June 28.

Gray has been employed by Martin-Tyrrell-Washington District Health Department since 2017 serving as Health Director. Previous work experience includes Human Services Planner/Evaluator II with Albemarle Regional Health Services in Elizabeth Cit, and related positions with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“The Pitt County Board of Health is very excited to appoint Wes Gray as our new Health Director. Wes is abundantly qualified with a great public health education and excellent experience directing public health activities for a neighboring three-county district. He’s going to make a great health director for the people of Pitt County,” said Dr. Herb Garrison, chair of the Pitt County Board of Health.

“I thank Teresa Ellen for serving as interim director and am pleased there will be no disruption in services to the public during the transition to the board of health’s permanent appointment,” said Janis Gallagher, Pitt County manager.

The primary purpose of the Director of Public Health is to manage and guide the affairs of the Pitt County Health Department. In this capacity, the director formulates division policies and priorities and provides programmatic and administrative consultation and technical assistance to the deputy secretary of Health Service. As director of public health, the individual is responsible for the formulation and implementation of Pitt County’s public health standards and policies in accordance with the State.

“I am honored to have been selected as health director by the Pitt County Board of Health,” Gray said. “My goal will be to continue to provide excellent service to our patients and customers and to fulfill our mission to protect, promote and assure the health of all people in Pitt County. This includes controlling the spread of communicable disease, reducing the impact of chronic illnesses, addressing infant mortality rates and working with community partners to achieve our shared health goals and priorities.”

Gray received a Master of Applied Science in Spatial Analysis from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Additionally, he earned a Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s in Public Administration from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from North Carolina State University.

Gray currently serves as a governor’s appointee on the NC Child Fatality Task Force and is a board member of the NC Alliance of Public Health Agencies. He also serves various roles in 10 public health-related organizations.

Manning has been employed by Pitt County Government from 2004 – 2017 in various positions in environmental health and then as environmental health director from 2021 – 2023. She also served as Director of Environmental Health in Wilson County from 2017 – 2021.

Manning received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from East Carolina University in Greenville. She currently serves on the External Advisory Board for East Carolina University Environmental Health Program, as site visitor for the North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board. She is the former vice president for the North Carolina Environmental Health Supervisor’s Association.

“In my tenure with Pitt County Government, I’ve built relationships of trust with Environmental Health’s community partners. I look forward to serving Pitt County residents through the broader reach of all Public Health programs and services as Deputy Health Director,” says Angie Manning.