John Wiesman

M.P.H. - Director
As the Director of Clark County Public Health, John Wiesman is responsible for working with the Clark County Board of Health to set and implement public health policy for the community and department. He also provides overall leadership and direction to the department and is responsible for improving health outcomes for Clark County citizens through the delivery of effective services and programs.

John Wiesman has been passionate about public health ever since a 1983 Time magazine article about disease detectives tracking Legionnaire Disease inspired him to enter the profession. 

John joined Clark County Public Health in July, 2004. Under his leadership and that of his team, Clark County Public Health has improved its emergency response capabilities, partnered with Sea Mar Community Clinic to provide integrated primary care and behavioral health in a new clinic site, increased access to consumer information on restaurant inspection and septic system information, and implemented the Nurse-Family Partnership, an intensive three-year home visiting nursing program for first-time pregnant women. Additionally, through data reporting and outreach, the department is increasing awareness of health inequities and the direct health impacts of social issues such as racism, social class, unemployment, education, and income.

Prior to this, John worked for 13 years in local public health, both in Connecticut and Washington State. He was in the first Connecticut group trained to be HIV testers and counselors.

John and his partner live in downtown Vancouver and enjoy taking advantage of its many walking destinations. He may be contacted by e-mail at: john.wiesman@clark.wa.gov or by calling (360) 397-8477.

Education:
BA, Lawrence University
MPH, Yale University

Alan Melnick, MD

MPH Health Officer
Since 2006, Dr. Alan Melnick has served as Health Officer for Clark County Public Health. He has overall 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 previously served as Health Officer for the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Health District (1989-1991), Washington County, Oregon (1990-1996), and Clackamas County, Oregon (1996-2006). In addition, Dr. Melnick was Director of the Joint Family Medicine/Preventive Medicine Residency at OHSU (1996-2006), and Director of Research for the OHSU Department of Family Medicine (2004-2006).

From 1991 to 1996, Dr. Melnick was a member of the Executive Committee of the Oregon Conference of Local Health Officials, serving as Vice-Chair from 1998-2006, and he served on the Board of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) from 2005-2006. In 1994, Governor Roberts appointed Dr. Melnick to the Oregon Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, where he served until 2002, including two years as Chair (1999-2001).

Currently, he is a member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners, Charter member of the Community Level Health Promotion Study section (CLHP) of the National Institutes of Health, and a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington. Dr. Melnick is a 1993-94 Scholar in the National Public Health Leadership Institute and past Chair of its alumni association, the Public Health Leadership Society (PHLS). As a member of the PHLS Ethics Work group, he has participated in the development and dissemination of the Public Health Code of Ethics. His research interests include community-based participatory research, family planning, chemical dependency and geographic information system applications in public health. In 2002, he published "Introduction to Geographic Information Systems in Public Health" (Jones and Bartlett publishers) and in 2008 he published "Biological, Chemical and Radiological Terrorism: Emergency Preparedness and Response for the Primary Care Physician" (Springer Publishers).

Dr. Melnick maintains a faculty appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at OHSU. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
In the Fall of 2006, Dr. Melnick and his wife, Kelly, took their son, Martin to Bozeman, Montana, where he is enrolled in the Montana State University film program.

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)