Anna Thomas

In times that test us, one of the hardest things public servants must face is ensuring we fully rise to the occasion. And amid the coronavirus pandemic, Manchester Public Health Director Anna Thomas has delivered. For the past year, Anna has helped guide our community through the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as the leading public health expert for Greater Manchester. She has led the charge in helping to inform difficult decisions regarding the closure of events and institutions and was often the lone voice representing public health interests in discussions with policymakers. She has worked tirelessly seven days a week since the first case of COVID was diagnosed, establishing the City’s COVID-19 Hotline, assisting with contract tracing, establishing testing sites, vaccinations, and monitoring the rise of the virus throughout the city, state, and country. Anna has also led transparency and information sharing efforts to ensure her work and the data we collected was effectively being communicated to the general public. Under her guidance, COVID-19 dashboards were developed for the City and School District, even before the State of New Hampshire released theirs.

As a mother, a veteran, a cancer survivor and someone who lost their father during this pandemic, Anna has managed with compassion, kindness, and unyielding commitment. Of course, if chosen, Anna will immediately state this award belongs to the entire Health Department, which to me, further illustrates why she should be named as a Pandemic SHEro.

Anna’s leadership also ensured that no one was left behind when it came to the health and well-being of our community during this pandemic. She led and advocated for services and systems to be established for vulnerable populations who are at higher risk of developing COVID-19; working closely with NH DHHS, local non-profits, and other City Departments to adequately address COVID-19 cases within the homeless population in Manchester. In addition, she secured resources to create targeted messaging via bulletin boards for Spanish-speaking residents to provide education and guidance on COVID-19, including promoting access to testing. She continues to lead MHD operations in supporting all aspects of pandemic response, and is currently scaling staffing to conduct mobile vaccination clinics with a focus on vulnerable populations.

And if managing the response to a global pandemic wasn’t enough, in the past year, Anna has also worked to secure grants for City Departments, assist individuals who are homeless, people facing food insecurity, those facing addiction issues, and developed Manchester’s soon-to-be-released comprehensive plan for harm reduction — the first in New Hampshire. In a year of unthinkable challenges, Anna Thomas has risen to the occasion without complaint, in a role that is usually without recognition. I am eternally grateful to have her on my team, and can think of no one more deserving to be recognized.