Syracuse, N.Y. – The Onondaga County Legislature unanimously confirmed the appointment of Dr. Kathryn Anderson as the county’s new health commissioner.
The Legislature voted 15-0 Thursday to approve Anderson, who was nominated for the job by Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. Two lawmakers were absent.
Her four-year term will begin Nov. 7.
Anderson is an infectious disease expert and epidemiologist at SUNY Upstate Medical University who helped guide the Syracuse area’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anderson’s annual salary will be $255,000, making her the county’s second highest paid employee behind Dr. Carolyn Revercomb, the county’s medical examiner, who was paid $259,707 last year.
Anderson is an assistant professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Upstate Medical University. She came to Upstate in 2019 after working at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Her research includes field epidemiology and respiratory viral disease spread and transmission. She’s from Minnesota.
Anderson was part of a team of doctors who put together the first model of how Covid-19 could spread through Central New York in the early days of the pandemic.
Anderson and her husband, Ryan Holweger, live in Syracuse’s Sedgwick neighborhood. They have two children, ages 3 and 5.
Anderson will replace Dr. Indu Gupta, who resigned July 1 after running the health department 7 ½ years.
James T. Mulder covers health. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com