Spokane Regional Health District sets February interviews for new top administrator
Finalists for the next Spokane Regional Health District administrator will be interviewed next month.
The new leader will replace Alicia Thompson, who was fired in September.
Working under the direction of the board, the administrative officer supervises the county’s health officer, Dr. Frank Velázquez, and oversees the operation of the health district as a whole.
Panel interviews for the finalists will take place Feb. 19. Candidates will answer questions from three panels: the district’s board, the executive leadership and a panel of community stakeholders. Feedback from the two other panels will go to the board, which will make the ultimate decision who is selected.
Three or four finalists will be interviewed, said Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldref, a health district board member . Finalists for the position have not yet been chosen.
Unlike previous searches for administrative officer, the board has not used a hiring firm to conduct a nationwide hiring search.
“The recommendation of the transition committee is that we don’t feel we need to enter into a contract,” Waldref said. “We have a good field of candidates that we are doing preliminary Zoom interviews with right now.”
The new administrative officer will need to provide steady leadership to a health district that has seen much tumult in the past half decade. Former administrator Amelia Clarke resigned in 2022 amid fallout from the firing of health officer Dr. Bob Lutz, which has been the subject of ongoing litigation.
Reasons for Thompson’s firing in September last year are more opaque. In her resignation letter, Thompson said her dismissal was related to “performance concerns expressed by the Board of Health,” but the board has not indicated any reason for her ouster.
In the past four months, the district has been led by Ray Byrne, division director of environmental public health, and Kim Kramarz, director of finance, as interim co-administrative officers.