Secretary to the NPHF Board of Directors

Director of Community Health, Southern Nevada Health District

Dr. Michael Johnson is the Director of Community Health for the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD). Dr. Johnson oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and policies consistent with the mission and overall goals of SNHD and assumes responsibility for all services and activities of the Division, including, but not limited to the Offices of Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance, Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (including Tobacco Control, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity Prevention), Public Health Preparedness, Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems, Vital Statistics, Informatics, and the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratories.

The SNHD is one of the largest public health departments in the United States. The SNHD serves a population of over 2 million residents or more than 73 % of Nevada’s total population and is responsible with safeguarding the public health of more than 42 million visitors to Las Vegas each year.

Dr. Johnson is a Cardiovascular Preventive Medicine Fellow from Stanford University, School of Medicine and holds a PhD in Clinical and Community Psychology from the University of Kansas, and a Master’s in Behavioral Medicine and Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of the Pacific. He has over 30 years of experience directing and evaluating public health and chronic disease and injury prevention programs both nationally (40 states) and internationally (11 countries) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Johnson has numerous peer reviewed publications, reports, book chapters, and white papers along with over 800 presentations at professional conferences and meetings around the U.S. and internationally.

He has held senior director positions at the California Department of Public Health, Tobacco Control Program, The Gallup Organization, Battelle Memorial Institute, and NORC at the University of Chicago. His most recent position prior to joining the SNHD was as the Director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control at the Louisiana Public Health Institute. Throughout his career, Dr. Johnson has been effective at leading teams and meeting grantee public health goals and outcomes. Dr. Johnson prides himself on being able to lead, coach, and mentor all levels of staff and grantees, and he looks forward to creating goals and public health polices for the Division of Community Health that support SNHD’s vision and protect the public health of Nevadans