Victor D. Sutton, Ph.D., MPPA
Chief of Community Health and Clinical Services
Mississippi State Department of Health
570 E. Woodrow Wilson
Jackson, Mississippi 39216
Victor D. Sutton currently oversees MSDH's Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity, Office of Health Services, Office of Field Services, and the Jackson Heart Study Community Engagement Center, after having served as the director of the Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity for many years.
The Office of Preventive Health and Health Equity works to promote evidence-based programs that focus on policy and environmental change, and works with schools, faith-based organizations, health care systems, worksites, municipalities and communities. Dr. Sutton manages the programmatic planning, implementation, and evaluation of federal and state grants.
The Office of Health Services organizes and directs public health programs that address major health concerns of women, mother and children in Mississippi.
The Office of Field Services is responsible for direct public health services to the public, primarily through MSDH's county health departments and clinics.
The Jackson Heart Study Community Engagement Center is the source of public information and education of results from the ongoing Jackson heart Study, a major long-running research initiative on the causes and consequences of heart disease in the Jackson-area African American community.
Dr. Sutton also provides operational and fiscal oversight to the Bureau of Community and School Health, the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, the Delta Health Collaborative, and the Injury and Violence Prevention program.
Dr. Sutton's career in public health extends over a decade in professional roles with the Mississippi Department of Human Services' Office of Children and Youth, the New York Department of Labor, and non-profit organizations, including the Community Organization for Health Awareness (COHA). As Director of COHA, Dr. Sutton developed a mentoring network that addressed health and education among at-risk youth in the juvenile system.
His research interests are varied and include leadership, cardiovascular health, obesity, health disparities, physical activity, community-based corrections, and community and economic development.
Education- Ph.D., Public Policy and Administration
- M.P.P.A., Public Policy and Administration
- National Association of Public Health Educators
- Mississippi Chronic Illness Coalition
- Conference of Minority Public Administrators
