Alan Melnick, MD, MPH, CPH
Director/Health Officer
Dr. Alan Melnick serves as Public Health director and Clark County health officer, a dual role he assumed in October 2013. He joined the department in 2006 to serve as the county's health officer. Dr. Melnick also currently serves as health officer for Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties.
As director of Clark County Public Health, Dr. Melnick works with the Clark County Board of Health on public health policy issues affecting the community and the department. Working with the department’s leadership team, he is responsible for ensuring the delivery of effective services and programs that improve the health of Clark County residents.
Dr. Melnick continues to have responsibility for the medical direction of the department, including controlling and preventing communicable disease, protecting the community from environmental hazards and working with the medical community to promote health and address chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, and preventable cancers.
Dr. Melnick is an associate professor at the Oregon Health & Science University-Portland State University (OHSU-PSU) School of Public Health and adjunct associate professor at the OHSU School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. He is former member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners, past chair of the Public Health Leadership Society (PHLS), past co-chair of the PHLS Ethics Committee, former member of the Washington State Medical Association Board of Trustees and served on the National Institutes of Health Community Level Health Promotion Study Section. As a member of the PHLS Ethics Committee, he participated in the development and dissemination of the Public Health Code of Ethics.
Currently, Dr. Melnick is a member of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Board of Directors, a member of the NACCHO Workforce & Leadership Development Workgroup, a member of the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials (WSALPHO) Board of Directors and the WSALPHO Health Officers chair. Within Clark County, he serves on the Clark County Medical Society Board and the PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Community Health Board and Executive Committee. He has authored two books, numerous other publications and coauthored a third book, “Essentials of Public Health Ethics.”
Education
BA, New York University
MD, Tufts University School of Medicine
MPH, University of Washington
Residencies, Emanuel Hospital, Portland (Family Medicine) and Oregon Health and Science University (Public Health and General Preventive Medicine)
Danette York
Deputy Director
Danette York joined Clark County Public Health as deputy director in May 2025. Danette started her lifelong career in public service with the United States Marine Corps, where she learned the accounting field and was recognized for her ability as a leader. She went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, followed by a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) with a focus in epidemiology from The Ohio State University. After more than a decade serving as the administrator/health commissioner in Brown County, Ohio, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and accepted the position of director for Lewis County Public Health & Social Services in Washington. After 10 years in Lewis County, Danette accepted the Butte County Public Health Director position in Northern California, where she stayed for five years before returning to the Pacific Northwest and joining Clark County Public Health.
Jeff Harbison
Administrative Services Director
Jeff Harbison oversees the department’s financial and administrative services. He has worked at Clark County Public Health since 1998. Jeff was born, raised and educated in Clark County. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Washington State University-Vancouver after receiving an associate's degree in accounting from Clark College. He serves on the Board for the Washington Amateur Softball Association and Clark County Children’s Sharing Project.
Andrea Pruett
Community Health Director
Andrea Pruett oversees the Healthy Families and Healthy Communities programs, including Health Assessment and Evaluation, Nurse-Family Partnership, Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, and chronic disease prevention initiatives which prioritize healthy eating active living (HEAL), oral health, and strategies to prevent and mitigate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), build community resilience, and improve population-level health outcomes of Clark County residents. Andrea has a Master's of Public Health in Health Systems, Management, and Policy from University of Colorado Anschutz and Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Food Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Gerry Preston
Environmental Public Health Director
Gerry Preston oversees Public Health’s environmental programs, including Drinking Water Protection, On-site Septic, Solid Waste, Hazard Assessment, Pollution Prevention & Assistance, Recreational Water Safety, School Health & Safety, and Food Safety. He joined the department in the fall of 2023. He previously worked for Oregon’s State Economist, statewide Budget Office and served in several leadership roles for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, including the Asbestos Program, Solid Waste Program, Underground Storage Tanks Program, Air Quality Program and Director of Operations for the Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Registration Program. Gerry was also a director for a publicly traded auto-tech company with clients ranging from New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission to the Washington Department of Ecology. He received his bachelor’s degree in business/economics from Willamette University. Outside of work, Gerry enjoys spending time with his family, coaching youth sports and serving on community volunteer committees.
Kim Toevs
Investigation and Response Director
As the Investigation and Response Director, Kim Toevs, MPH supports the teams that provide effective and equitable public health services, in coordination with community partners, in the following areas: Infectious Disease services, which includes STI/HIV prevention, harm reduction, immunization, tuberculosis, infection prevention and communicable disease epidemiology program areas, and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response. Kim joined the department in October 2025. Kim has worked in reproductive, sexual and infectious disease-related public health for 35 years in community and local government settings. Kim received her Master's of Public Health in Community Health Education from San José State University and her Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley.