Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, Baltimore’s top health official and deputy mayor for Equity, Health, and Human Services, is stepping down at the end of June as part of planned changes in city leadership. The announcement was made in a memorandum from Chief Administrative Officer Faith Leach obtained by The Baltimore Sun. Along with Dzirasa’s departure, there are promotions for other officials in Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration, including his current communications director, deputy chief of staff, and the chief policy officer for the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success.
During her time in leadership, Dzirasa played a key role in the city’s COVID response, including setting up a mass testing drive-thru site at Pimlico Race Course and converting the Lord Baltimore Hotel into a COVID command center in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System. Baltimore was recognized in a 2021 study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health for how well it handled the pandemic compared to similar cities.
Leach announced Dzirasa’s departure in a memo to the City Council, expressing “mixed emotions.” John David “J.D.” Merrill, the current deputy chief of staff, will serve as Dzirasa’s interim replacement. Additionally, Bryan Doherty, Scott’s current communications director, is being promoted to deputy chief of staff. The article will be updated as more information becomes available.
