HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — The Hamilton County Board of Health voted to promote Greg Kesterman to health commissioner on Monday evening.
The move comes as the county works to control the spread of COVID-19. Kesterman has been at the helm since the start of the pandemic, serving as interim health commissioner.
Since Kesterman started as interim health commissioner in January, he has seen a difficult case of tuberculosis, followed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to Mark Rippe, president of the Hamilton County Board of Health.
“I can’t imagine a more difficult scenario in which to begin, and Greg has handled it superbly,” Rippe said in a statement. “He has energized his team and is leading a comprehensive and complicated response to a novel pandemic that we haven’t seen in more than 100 years. The Board of Health could not be more pleased with Greg’s leadership.”
Kesterman graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and received a master’s in public administration from Northern Kentucky University.
He began his career as a sanitarian in the agency’s Environmental Health Division, moving up to division director before assuming the role of assistant health commissioner, then interim health commissioner.
Kesterman said in a statement that he is grateful for the Board’s confidence as he assumes the role.
“I am honored to lead this team. As we battle COVID-19, it is apparent that we have a top-notch public health agency and I’m excited about advancing healthy practices in Hamilton County,” Kesterman said.
