Brenda Nickel, one of the state’s top public health officials at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, is resigning from the agency effective Friday to become director of the Riley County Health Department.
Nickel joined KDHE in 2005 and for two years has led its Center for Performance Management, which assists the state’s 100 local health departments with improving public health service delivery and with seeking national accreditation.
Nickel begins work Monday at the Riley County Health Department in Manhattan. Mindee Reece will serve as interim director of the center.
Before joining the agency, Nickel was a school nurse in Emporia for 16 years and a public health nurse at the Lyon County Health Department for eight years.
Michelle Ponce, director of the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments, called Nickel a “dedicated and knowledgeable public health professional.”
“Her resignation from KDHE is a loss to the organization, but we are thrilled to welcome her to the local public health system and as a member of KALHD. Her enthusiasm and vision will benefit not only Riley County but the system as a whole,” Ponce said.
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