Agency Leadership
Meenakshi G. Brewster, MD, MPH, FAAFP
St. Mary’s County Health Officer
Appointed by the State of Maryland Secretary of Health upon recommendation of the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, the St. Mary’s County Health Officer directs the St. Mary’s County Health Department, provides medical guidance in public health decision-making, and represents the county and health department on a variety of local, state, and national committees addressing health.
Dr. Brewster began in her role as the St. Mary’s County Health Officer in December 2012. Prior to her current role, she served as the Medical Director for the Health and Human Services Commission at the Indiana State Department of Health and as the Chronic Disease Director for the state. Her previous work experience also includes appointment as Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she taught medical students, primary care residents, and sports medicine fellows while providing clinical care to patients of all ages and backgrounds. She is a primary care physician with clinical training in the specialties of Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. Dr. Brewster earned a Bachelor of Science in biology, Master of Public Health, and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Miami (FL).
Stephanie Harper, MD, MPP
Deputy Health Officer
Dr. Stephanie Harper serves as the Deputy Health Officer and Chief of Staff for the St. Mary’s County Health Department. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Divisions of Behavioral Health, Clinical Services, Community Engagement and Policy, Environmental Health, Health Promotion and Community Services, Operations, and Public Health Preparedness and Response.
Dr. Harper earned a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She received her undergraduate degree from Spelman College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She completed residency and fellowship training in Ophthalmology and then worked in private practice, served as the Director of Ophthalmology at Washington Medical Associates, and was an Assistant Professor at the Howard University College of Medicine where she also directed resident education. Prior to her current role, Dr. Harper served as a Health Director for the Virginia Department of Health for 14 years and as the Chief of the Bureau of Chronic Disease Control at the DC Department of Health. She was also a German Marshall Fellow, was appointed to the DC Mayor’s Bioterrorism Task Force, and served on the executive committee of the United Way. Dr. Harper is a native of the DMV, but she grew up appreciating the beauty, peace and serenity of a more rural lifestyle by spending summers visiting with her extended family.
Katherine Shirey
Director of the Division of Operations
Katherine Shirey is the Director of Operations at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. As Director, she provides leadership for the Finance, Medicaid Transportation, and Vital Records programs as well as organizational strategic planning/Quality Improvement staff oversight and agency technological systems.
Tammy Loewe, LCSW-C
Director of the Behavioral Health Division
Tammy Loewe is the Division Director of Behavioral Health at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. As Director, her responsibilities include providing system management for behavioral health services in our community which refers residents to local behavioral health resources, including both mental health and substance use treatment providers; substance use prevention programs; and strategies to educate, reduce and prevent substance use, opioid misuse and overdoses. The Division also manages state and federal government grant-funded behavioral health programs. Tammy has 27 years of experience working in behavioral health and social services. After graduating from the University of Baltimore with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was employed at Mosaic, Inc., and then began working with Baltimore County Bureau of Substance Abuse. While there, she pursued her master’s degree in social work with a concentration in substance abuse from University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She moved to St. Mary’s County in 2006 where she worked at St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services for 10 years before joining the St. Mary’s County Health Department in 2017 as the Behavioral Health Director. She resides in St. Mary’s County with her husband, son and step-daughter.
Heather Moritz, LEHS
Director of the Environmental Health Division
Heather Moritz joined the St. Mary’s County Health Department in 2002 as an Environmental Health Services Trainee. She has since served as an Environmental Health Supervisor and Deputy Director, specializing in Land Development and Water Quality programs. Currently, as the Director of the Environmental Health Division, Moritz oversees agency work to address the health impact of environmental factors in our community and to prevent illness borne from poor water quality, contaminated soils, unsafe food, and other community environmental health hazards. The Environmental Health Division is accountable for local compliance with a variety of state and local regulations, and has delegated responsibilities from both the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland Department of the Environment. Moritz was born and raised in St. Mary’s County. She graduated from Great Mills High School in 1996 and from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2001. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science & Policy with a concentration in Conservation Management & Biodiversity. She moved back to St. Mary’s County in 2001. She has been married for over 15 years to her best friend and they are blessed with two healthy, amazing daughters.
Angela Cochran, MS
Director of the Division of Health Promotion and Community Services
Angela Cochran is the Division Director of Health Promotion and Community Services at the St. Mary’s County Health Department. As the Director of the Division, her responsibilities include delivery of public health services to the community, program planning, and collaborating with partners to coordinate health related services in St. Mary’s County. She received her Master of Science degree in Health Sciences and Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. She also holds a graduate certificate in Core Public Health Concepts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Cochran has experience in the areas of health, wellness, and education. She worked in cancer research at VCU’s Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, VA, and also as the program coordinator for a clinical research, health and wellness program for teens through the Department of Pediatrics at VCU. In 2008, Angela relocated to Southern Maryland and held positions at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital as the Exercise Physiologist/Clinical Lead for the Grace Anne Dorney Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and as the hospital Clinical Educator. Angela is a St. Mary’s County native and currently resides in Solomons with her husband and two children.
Jacquie Wells
Director of the Division of Community Engagement & Policy
Jacquie Wells serves as the Director of the Office of Community Engagement & Policy for the St. Mary’s County Health Department. In this role, she directs the communications, public relations, engagement, policy, language services, and health equity work of the agency. She also oversees the local health improvement process, which involves ongoing community health assessment, strategic planning, and the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based strategies to improve population-level health outcomes.
Wells was born and raised in Calvert County, graduating from Patuxent High School in 2011. She attended Lycoming College in Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialty in elementary and special education in 2015. Wells has over 5 years of public health experience in strategic planning, communications development, community health assessments, and program administration. She has worked for the St. Mary’s County Health Department since 2018, starting as the Local Health Improvement Coordinator overseeing the Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership. She currently lives in Maine with her husband and two Australian Shepherds.
Alicia Nelson, RN, MHA
Director of the Division of Clinical Services
As Director of Nursing and Director of Division of Clinical Services, Lisa Nelson, RN, MHA works to ensure SMCHD provides the highest quality clinical services to St. Mary’s County residents. She is responsible for the overall planning and operations of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Surveillance Program, STI/Family Planning Clinic, School Health Services including School-Based Health Centers, and COVID-19 Testing, Contact Tracing, and Vaccine operations.
Lisa joined SMCHD in 2021 with over 15 years of experience in healthcare leadership roles. She previously worked at Chesapeake Potomac Home Health Agency before a 10-year career with Healogics, Inc. During her time with Healogics, she advanced from Clinical Nurse Manager to Program Director at the Wound Healing Center at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital. Most recently, as Regional Director of Clinical Operations, she was responsible for overall program growth, quality outcomes, and financial success of numerous Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Centers in DC/MD and VA, in addition to providing clinical and quality expertise for 45 additional centers from VA to CT. A lifelong resident of Southern Maryland, Lisa received her Nursing Degree from College of Southern Maryland, Bachelors in Nursing from University of Maryland, and Masters in Health Care Administration from University of Maryland University College. Lisa lives in St. Mary’s County with her husband and three children.
Tressa Setlak
Director of the Division of Preparedness & Response
Tressa Setlak serves as the Director of the Division of Preparedness and Response for the St. Mary’s County Health Department. In this role, she leads the agency’s public health emergency preparedness, the local public health corps coordination, and the pandemic historian. Setlak joined the agency in March 2022 after serving as the public safety director for St. Mary’s College. Prior to that, her career history includes 20 years as a police officer and police chief in Pennsylvania and 15 years as a public safety director in higher education. Setlak is also an assistant professor with the University of Maryland Global Campus and a member of the St. Mary’s County Library Board of Trustees. She holds a BS from York College of PA, an MS from the University of Cincinnati, and an MPA from the Pennsylvania State University. She resides in St. Mary’s County with her wife, dog, and cat.
St. Mary’s County Board of Health
The St. Mary’s County Board of Health is comprised of the St. Mary’s County Health Officer and the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County. Each year, the Board of Health meets in May and October, and at any other time the Board deems necessary (Code Health-General Article, secs. 3-101 through 3-202) to discuss current public health issues in the county and to support the health department.