Overview

• Mayor Brandon Scott named Dr. Michelle Taylor as Baltimore City Health Department commissioner effective Aug. 4, citing her leadership in Shelby County and her service as an Air National Guard colonel and flight surgeon.
• Taylor ends a vacancy that has persisted since July 2024 after former commissioner Dr. Ihuoma Emenuga’s termination and subsequent clearance of wrongdoing.
• A Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health alumna with a Doctorate in Public Health, Taylor brings a track record of tackling health inequities and disease prevention.
• She will spearhead efforts to curb Baltimore’s opioid overdose epidemic and expand physical and mental health resources across the city.
• The department has grappled with billing backlogs, building maintenance failures and the prospect of federal funding cuts during its leadership void.