Dr. Zachary Taylor will lead District 2 of the Georgia Department of Public Health permanently after serving in the role on an interim basis since September. 

Previously, Taylor was health director for the North Georgia Health District in Dalton, and he will serve as acting health director for that district until a replacement is named. 

Taylor earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1982 and completed his residency at the University of Maryland, where he was chief resident in the department of epidemiology and preventive medicine, according to a DPH news release. He earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland, and bachelor’s degree in chemistry from LaGrange College. He is board certified in preventive medicine and public health and holds licensure as a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners. 

From 2006 to 2015, Taylor was regional health administrator for the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region VIII in Denver, Colorado. Before moving to Colorado, he worked from 1993 to 2006 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination. From 1991 to 1993, Taylor served as a medical epidemiologist with the Division of Health Studies at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He has also worked with the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research in Rockville, Maryland and with Indian Health Services in New Mexico and North Dakota. 

Taylor is a LaGrange native. He lives in Hall County with his wife Joan. 

District 2, based in Gainesville, covers 13 Northeast Georgia counties, including Hall, Dawson, Forsyth, Habersham and Banks. Dr. Pamela Logan was the previous director, and she resigned in September.  

 See original story by the Gainesville Times here.