Dr. Kelly Kimple

Dr. Kelly Kimple serves as the North Carolina State Health Officer and the acting Director of the NCDHHS Division of Public Health. In this role, she leads initiatives to protect and improve health and well-being statewide. 

As a pediatrician and preventive medicine physician, she has a passion for public health and prevention. She works to ensure evidence-based and data-driven efforts, and serve vulnerable populations. She has served on various advisory groups as a trusted subject matter expert. She was instrumental in NC’s COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.

Dr. Kimple fosters teamwork and builds strong partnerships across NCDHHS divisions and partners. This work supports our mission to improve North Carolinians' health, safety, and well-being.

She first joined the Division of Public Health in 2016 as the Women’s and Children’s Health Section Chief. She continues to serve as the NC Title V/Maternal and Child Health Director. 

Previously, Dr. Kimple was on faculty at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. There, she focused on hospital readmissions prevention with a whole-person approach. Her work addressed non-medical needs through a medical-legal partnership. She also was a primary care pediatrician in both academic and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) settings and provided complex care for children and youth with special health care needs.

She earned her B.A. in Biologic Basis of Behavior and Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her M.D. and M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed residencies in pediatrics and preventive medicine/public health at the University of North Carolina.
 

“I am eager to lead our dedicated team and engage with our partners to advance health equity and enhance the well-being of all North Carolinians. Our collective efforts are vital to the ongoing success of the public health work we do each day.” 

Dr. Kelly Kimple