Dr. Deidra D. Parrish Named Public Health Director
Published on September 25, 2025
Dr. Deidra D. Parrish has been named Arlington County’s Public Health Director in the Department of Human Services (DHS). In this role, Dr. Parrish will provide overall leadership and direction for public health programs and serve as the official health advisor for Arlington County.
"I'm excited to bring my skills to this role and to work with the dynamic team at Arlington Public Health," said. Dr. Parrish. "I look forward to engaging with individuals and groups across the county, state, and region to serve the needs of the Arlington community."
The Public Health Director serves as the local lead of the Arlington Health District for the Virginia Department of Health and is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the County’s public health policy and emergency preparedness and response efforts.
Dr. Parrish is a board-certified infectious diseases and preventive medicine physician with over two decades of public health experience at the local, state, national and international levels. She most recently served in the U.S. Agency for International Development as a Senior Advisor in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for HIV testing and treatment and co-led the interagency Global-Domestic HIV Bidirectional Learning Forum.
Previously, Dr. Parrish worked at the Tennessee Department of Health where she was the Regional Medical Director for the largest public health jurisdiction in the state and served as Chief Medical Officer for a rural Federally Qualified Health Center.
Prior roles include Communicable Disease Physician for Metro Nashville Public Health; Sexually Transmitted Diseases Fellow at CDC; and various academic appointments.
Dr. Parrish is an alumna of Howard University (BS), University of Alabama School of Medicine (MD), and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (MPH&TM).
In her free time, she can be found in a book club, exploring nature or enjoying cultural activities.
About the Department of Human Services
The Arlington County Department of Human Services (DHS) works to advance economic security, safety, and general well-being. The vision is a just and equitable community that is healthy, safe, and economically secure, and free of systemic racism.
DHS is the County’s largest department, serving more than 58,000 individuals annually with more than 100 programs. DHS is well-equipped to address the complex needs of at-risk persons and their families because it is an integrated agency that houses public assistance, social services, behavioral healthcare, housing, public health, child & family services, aging & disability services, and job programs under one department. DHS oversees and evaluates the complete range of human needs in the County, provides direct services in response to those needs, and contracts with the non-profit sector to provide additional services to those not met directly by the County.