Adam Anderson

About Adam Anderson

I have the pleasure of serving as the Director of Epidemiology and Data Science at the Adams County Health Department in Colorado, where I oversee a multidisciplinary portfolio spanning population health epidemiology, communicable disease surveillance, data systems, and emergency preparedness and response. As part of the department’s senior leadership team, I lead teams of epidemiologists, data professionals, and emergency preparedness planners - bringing strategic direction and innovation to programs that guide public health action. I have held similar leadership roles in other local health departments, including playing a central role in standing up Colorado’s newest health department and building its epidemiology, data, and preparedness functions from the ground up.I also serve as an adjunct instructor at the Colorado School of Public Health, where I teach GIS and spatial analysis for health research. With a background in landscape architecture, urban planning, and public health, I bring an interdisciplinary lens to understanding how communities, cultures, the built environment, and environmental conditions shape population health.My expertise includes geospatial technology, statistical and spatial modeling, enterprise data systems architecture, governance, and web-based application development. I specialize in integrating health, demographic, and community data to better reflect the complexity of health outcomes and disease patterns, and translating those insights into practical tools for decision-making. I lead a health department–wide data modernization effort focused on transforming how data are collected, stored, accessed, governed, and used to support more efficient workflows and data-driven operations. This work includes designing GIS- and automation-enabled dashboards and interactive web applications—with a strong emphasis on clear visual communication—that make complex health data accessible and actionable for policymakers, practitioners, and communities. Through this systems-building work, I am committed to improving community resources, resilience, and opportunities for health.

Experience

1. Director of Epidemiology and Data Science

   Adams County Government

   Jun 2022 — Present · CO, US

   I lead the Epidemiology and Data Science Division, overseeing population health epidemiology, communicable disease surveillance and investigation, enterprise data systems, GIS, and analytic support for emergency preparedness and response. As a senior leader in a newly established health department, I’ve built and scaled core epidemiology, data, and preparedness functions from the ground up while advancing a department-wide shift toward modern, integrated, and equity-focused data use.Key responsibilities and contributions:* Provide strategic and operational leadership for multidisciplinary teams including population health epidemiologists, communicable disease epidemiologists/investigators, data analysts/scientists, GIS staff, and emergency preparedness planners.* Direct enterprise data modernization to improve how data are collected, stored, governed, accessed, and used across programs, reducing silos and enabling automation and real-time insight.* Design and improve surveillance systems and analytic workflows for communicable disease, vital records, environmental health, and emerging public health priorities.* Lead GIS and spatial analysis implementation, including development of dashboards, interactive web apps, and mapping tools for decision-making and public-facing communication.* Develop data for population health metrics and community health assessments integrating clinical, demographic, behavioral, environmental, and place-based data to evaluate disparities and guide interventions.* Establish data governance and responsible AI/ML guidance to support safe, effective use of AI in epidemiology, reporting, communications, and planning.* Advise executive leadership and external partners on data-informed strategy, policy, and resource allocation.

Education

• University of Kentucky

  Bachelor of Science , Landscape Architecture (BSLA)

  1998 — 2003

• University of Colorado Anschutz

  Master of Public Health (MPH)

• University of Colorado Denver

  Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP)

Skills

• Land Development
• Rezonings
• Spss
• Site Planning
• Computer Graphics
• Comprehensive Planning
• Sas
• Urban Design
• Spatial Statistics
• Public Health Informatics
• Public Health
• Public Speaking
• Rendering
• Arcgis
• Photoshop
• Project Coordination
• Illustrator
• Project Management
• Indesign
• Construction Drawings
• Gis
• Parks
• Autocad
• Data Visualization
• Social Determinants of Health
• Research
• Microsoft Office
• Geographic Information Systems (Gis)