Kitsap Public Health District Community Health director Yolanda Fong will replace the retiring Keith Grellner as administrator.

Grellner has worked for KPHD for 34 years. His last day will be the end of December.

As administrator, Fong will be responsible for developing and implementing the district’s annual budget and overseeing operations, in collaboration with Health Officer Dr. Gib Morrow.

The health board approved Fong’s contract Nov. 7 following a three-month recruitment process.

“I believe Yolanda is ideally suited to lead the health district into the future,” said KPHD board chair Becky Erickson, who is also the mayor of Poulsbo. “Her experience in public health leadership and intimate knowledge of our health district and community will serve Kitsap residents well.”

She also wanted to thank Grellner for his years of service. “We are also grateful to Keith for his many years of steady and thoughtful leadership. Kitsap County is a healthier place because of his service.”

Fong joined the KPHD’s Parent-Child Health Program in 2008 as a public health nurse. She was promoted to assistant director for the Community Health Division in 2017 and director in 2019. As a member of the executive leadership team, she oversees programs focused on chronic disease and injury prevention, communicable disease, immunization, HIV case management, and parent and child health. Fong played a pivotal leadership role in the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said she looks forward to working with the board, district employees and community “to make Kitsap County a safe and healthy place for all. Transitions can be challenging, but they provide an opportunity to build on past successes while adapting to meet emerging needs.”

Fong also has served on the Peninsula Community Health Services board and the Bremerton Farmers Market and is on the Kitsap Professional Leaders of Color steering committee and state Public Health Advisory board. She was a Kitsap County 20 Under 40 recipient in 2016 and received an Emerging Public Health Leader Award from the state Public Health Association in 2011.

Fong holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in nursing from the University of Washington, Tacoma. She has taught as an adjunct faculty member for the Olympic College Nursing Program, where she earned her associate degree in 2004.