Sherry Adams
North Dakota State Health Officer
Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Sherry Adams, administrator and CEO of the Southwestern District Health Unit, to serve as North Dakota’s next State Health Officer, effective Sept. 15, 2025, citing her extensive background in public health and emergency response.
Adams is a registered sanitarian and environmental health specialist who began working in public health in 2004 and has led the Dickinson-based Southwestern District Health Unit since 2009, overseeing 35 staff across eight counties. She has worked in emergency preparedness and response for 21 years and is certified by the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency as an incident command instructor.
As state health officer, Adams is a member of the governor’s Cabinet, advising on issues affecting public health. The state health officer’s statutory duties include providing strategy and policy advice to improve health and wellness, advising local public health officials, promoting the development of local health services and preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Adams will continue to serve in her current role with Southwestern District Health Unit while fulfilling her duties as state health officer on a part-time basis.
Adams joined the state’s Emergency Management Support Team as a safety officer in 2009 and became an incident commander in 2012. She has responded to numerous incidents in North Dakota including the Dickinson tornado and H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 and major floods in 2009 and 2011. She served as a local incident commander, state planning chief and lead testing coordinator for local public health units during the COVID pandemic. Adams has served on the State Association for Local and County Health Units executive committee for five years, as vice chair, chair and now past president. She also has assisted with volcano and hurricane response in Hawaii and taught incident command in Ghana, Togo and Benin, Africa.