NH Public Health Director to Serve as President on National Board of Health Officers

Concord, NH – New Hampshire’s Public Health Director, Dr. José Montero has

been elected president of the Association of State and Territorial Health

Officials (ASTHO). Dr. Montero was elected during the Association’s

recent annual meeting held in Austin, Texas. This is a one-year position

and takes effect immediately. Dr. Montero has been with the New Hampshire

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health

Services since 1999.


“Dr. Montero shows great leadership in the work he does as Public Health

Director of our State on behalf of its citizens,” said DHHS Commissioner

Nicholas Toumpas. “He is deeply committed to improving the public’s health

in New Hampshire and I have no doubt he will bring that passion to the work

he will do in the coming year with ASTHO. Our long-time partnership with

ASTHO will be enhanced with Dr. Montero’s efforts to improve public health

practice in New Hampshire and across the country.”


ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization that represents public health

agencies in the US, the US territories, and the District of Columbia, as

well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies

employ. The chief health officials for each state, territory, and the

District of Columbia make up the voting membership of ASTHO. Dr. Montero

has been part of ASTHO since becoming NH’s Public Health Director in 2008.


“I have found the collaboration with public health experts around the

country invaluable to the work we do here in New Hampshire,” said Dr.

Montero. “I look forward to assisting ASTHO in carrying out its mission,

of improving the health and wellness of Americans. I’m particularly

looking forward to working on my presidential challenge, which mirrors our

state efforts for better integration between public health and the health

care system. As a nation we need to consistently integrate health care

with the public health system to reach people in an effort to prevent

illness and injury, rather than just treat it. We also need to develop the

tools that will allow us to consistently measure the health indicators of

all people.”


Dr. Montero began his medical career in Colombia, where he served as local,

county and state health official. He then went to teach family and

preventive medicine and later became Colombia’s public health director.

Dr. Montero began his service in New Hampshire in 1999 as chief of the New

Hampshire Communicable Disease Section in the Division of Public Health.

Dr. Montero became State epidemiologist in 2005, before becoming director

of the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services in 2008.