Santa Barbara County Public Health Director to step down

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso has decided to leave the county department for another leadership position at CenCal Health.

Do-Reynoso was hired as public health director in August 2017 and has guided county residents through back-to-back disasters, from the 2017 Thomas Fire and the following catastrophic Montecito debris flow to the sudden eruption of a global pandemic that would end up stealing the lives of millions of people.

In a position that people often had never thought about, Do-Reynoso was thrown into the spotlight and became the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community.

She not only led her Public Health team internally but worked alongside state and federal officials to implement an equitable COVID-19 response aimed at keeping the community as safe as possible. She held weekly COVID-19 press briefings to keep the public up-to-date on the ever-changing guidelines and made sure to do more outreach in the county's underserved communities.

After a relentless five years with the county, she has accepted another position at CenCal Health where she will continue to serve the Santa Barbara community, along with the San Luis Obispo County community.