Two New Members Appointed to State Board of Health

JACKSON, Miss. — Gov. Tate Reeves has appointed two new members to the State Board of Health. Connie Baird Thomas of Madison and Lorie Till of Clarksdale will serve six-year terms on the 11-member Board, which provides policy direction for the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).

"We are excited to have these two accomplished public servants join the Board of Health," said Dr. Dan Edney, MSDH Executive Director and State Health Officer. "The work we do touches the lives of every Mississippian, and I am grateful for their willingness to serve public health for the people of our state."

Thomas has been a senior researcher at the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University since 2002. She currently serves as Associate Director of the Social Science Center for Policy Studies and Director of the Evaluation Research Group. Her primary interests include program evaluation, early childhood development and public health. As a program evaluator, she has led the evaluation of a statewide effort to reduce health disparities in under-resourced communities and served as Lead Investigator for the assessment of other health-related initiatives including the Mississippi Delta Health Collaborative and the AIM for Change High Obesity Project. Thomas holds a B.A. from Tougaloo College and a Ph.D. from Mississippi State University, both in Sociology, and has completed graduate work in Criminology and Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Till has served as CEO of Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center since 2023. Her leadership experience spans rural, community, and academic healthcare settings, including roles as Chief Nursing Officer and COO of hospitals, and positions with academic medical centers directing care coordination and population health initiatives. Till's expertise includes healthcare operations, value-based care, utilization management, regulatory compliance and revenue cycle. She is President of the Delta Health Transformation Council and member of the Mississippi Christian University Nursing Advisory Council and the Mississippi Rural Health Association Board of Directors. She earned a B.S. in Nursing from Mississippi College, M.S. in Nursing & Healthcare Administration from Loyola University and an Executive Master of Population Health Management from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Thomas and Till, who were introduced at Wednesday's Board of Health meeting, will fill vacancies left by Elayne Hayes-Anthony, who died in March, and Bobby Moody, who retired in June 2025.

Also during the meeting, Dr. James Chaney assumed the role of Board Chairman, and Dr. John Davis, Vice-Chairman. Both have served on the Board of Health since 2021. Previous Chairman Dr. Lucius Lampton, who has served on the Board since 2006, remains as a member.