Judith A. Monroe - Doctor of Health and Human Sciences

Judith Monroe

Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Judith Monroe graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology. She earned her doctor of medicine degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1983. Prior to medical school, she worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Cincinnati in 1986.

Immediately after her residency, Monroe practiced family medicine in rural Tennessee, fulfilling a four-year National Health Service Corps commitment. In 1990, she joined the faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine and became the director of the St. Vincent Family Medicine Residency Program in Indianapolis in 1992. She spent the next 13 years practicing medicine and developing graduate medical education programs. 

In 2005, Monroe was appointed the state health commissioner of Indiana, where she focused on health promotion and prevention, preparedness, preventing medical errors, and quality improvement. During her tenure, cigarette consumption decreased by nearly 25 percent, with smoking decreasing by 21 percent among high school students and 46 percent among middle school students. In 2010, Indiana's smoking rate reached a historic low of 21.2 percent. From 2008-09, she served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). She led Indiana through the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and partnered with Purdue University in the design of the Public Health System Quality Improvement Project to strengthen local public health capacity and performance. 

Monroe left Indiana in 2010 to become the deputy director for state, tribal, local, and territorial support efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and director of CDC's Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. She is focused on a systems approach to developing more effective and efficient public health practices, innovative training for the future workforce, integrating medicine and public health and improving population health. Under her leadership, several national programs have been developed, including the National Public Health Improvement Initiative, which has resulted in efficiencies and more effective practices in multiple health departments across the United States. 

Under Monroe's leadership, the CDC's Public Health Associate Program has grown from being a pilot program in just one state to a national program aimed at building an experienced public health workforce. She also oversees key activities that support higher health standards and improved health systems, such as the National Public Health Performance Standards Program and technical assistance for national, voluntary accreditation for public health departments.