1st woman to head Oakland Co. Health and Human Services

Pontiac — The head of the Oakland County Health Division has been named to take over the county’s Department of Health and Human Services next month.

Kathy Forzley was appointed by county Executive L. Brooks Patterson to replace Health and Human Services director George Miller, who is retiring April 28. Forzley will be the first woman director of the department, which oversees the county’s Health Division, Homeland Security Division, and Children’s Village.

“Kathy Forzley will do an outstanding job as director of the Health and Human Services Department,” Patterson said in a statement Tuesday. “Her leadership overseeing more than 40 public health programs as the county’s health officer has not only garnered many national and statewide awards but also has bolstered Oakland County’s reputation for excellence in public health.”

Forzley, who lives in Troy, has been manager of the Oakland County Health Division since 2008. She was administrator for Oakland County Environmental Health Services from 2003-08 and an environmental health services supervisor from 2001-03. She joined Oakland County in 1992 as a public health sanitarian.

“I’m grateful Brooks has confidence in my experience to take the reins of his largest department,” Forzley said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to the opportunities that come with the additional responsibilities.”