PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach announced today the upcoming departure of Kelly Colopy, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department). Ms. Colopy, who has served as the Health Department Director since 2013, has been appointed Director for the Department of Human Services for Salt Lake County, Utah.

“Kelly is an unwavering, motivational leader who has navigated us through an unprecedented pandemic, initiatives to end systemic racism, a homeless emergency, and many other critical public health crises,” said City Manager Tom Modica. “Her leadership and dedication as Health and Human Services Director have made lasting impacts on Long Beach both as an organization and a united community. We wish her all the best in her well-deserved new role in Salt Lake County.”

As Health Department Director for Long Beach, Ms. Colopy oversaw City efforts in more than 55 diverse programs in core public health services as well as social determinants of health, including housing and homelessness, mental health, and family and youth development. As one of only three city-run health departments in California, the Health Department has over 500 employees at 12 sites throughout Long Beach and operates with a $180 million annual budget, 95% of which comes from Federal, State, County and private funds. Under her leadership, in 2016, the Health Department became one of the first public health jurisdictions in California to achieve a Public Health Accreditation, which was reaccredited in 2022.

During Ms. Colopy’s tenure, she strengthened the Health Department’s financial growth through effective fiscal oversight and management, increased grant funding by nearly $90 million and produced an over $10 million fund balance to support the Department in cases of public health crises. She identified funding for and opened the first municipal Office of Equity in Southern California, and expanded department services to include violence prevention and reentry, early childhood education, an Office of Youth Development, a Veterans Commission, older adult planning and response, basic needs line and referral system, and mental health supports. She also moved the Department toward a trauma-informed and resiliency-focused approach to operations, both focusing on wellness of the City’s communities and the Health Department team.

Most notably during her time with the City, Ms. Colopy led several critical public health efforts, including the City’s nationally recognized emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic response, Colopy oversaw efforts including policy design, data analyses, testing, sheltering and isolation guidance, communications, and systems design for recovery and resiliency. She also served as the Incident Commander for the City’s local state of emergency for homelessness, where she again led Citywide efforts to increase services and resources for people experiencing homeless, reduce barriers to services through new initiatives, increase interim and permanent housing availability, among other efforts to reduce homelessness. Ms. Colopy additionally played an integral role in the development of the City’s Racial Equity and Reconciliation Plan and emergency response to the summer 2022 Mpox outbreak.

“Leaving Long Beach is a bittersweet moment for me. The City of Long Beach has been my home for 10 years and I have loved it. Serving as the City’s Health and Human Services Director has been a real privilege. The members of the Department team are truly committed, passionate about their work, caring and just so creative and innovative – they have made this work possible.” said Colopy. “I also truly appreciate the partnership of the City’s leadership, other Department Directors and community members in coming together through the difficult times over these past few years to work toward a healthy and resilient city.  I thank you all.”

Ms. Colopy’s last day with the City is Oct. 27, 2023. Since joining the City, Colopy has had dual residencies in both Long Beach and Salt Lake City. She will be returning full time to the Salt Lake area once she begins her new role.

The City Manager will assign an Acting Director while conducting a national recruitment to permanently fill the position. 

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.