TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Tarrant County Commissioners voted Tuesday to appoint Dr. Brian Byrd as Tarrant County Public Health Director.
The public health department oversees community health, vaccine records, restaurant safety standards, respiratory diseases and more. The role took center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic as elected officials turned to public health leaders to set policies around vaccination and masking requirements.
Byrd, 53, founded and ran Texas Family Medicine, a primary care physician group for nearly 25 years. He currently serves as Medical Director for Palm Primary Care. He also previously created and sold a hospice care company, Texas Hospice, to Encompass Health in 2013.
He is also an Executive Pastor at Christ Fellowship Fort Worth.
Tarrant County's previous health director, Vinny Taneja, resigned in February after being placed on administrative leave by County Administrator Chandler Merritt and amid reports of a hostile work environment within the Public Health Department. Deputy County Administrator Tom Stallings has served as interim director since Teneja's resignation.
Byrd will start work with the county on July 1.
“I want us to have the best Public Health Department on all fronts, that is well-integrated into the community, leads with compassion and data while improving the health outcomes of all Tarrant County residents,” Byrd said in a press release from the county.
Byrd previously represented District 3 in west Fort Worth from 2017 to 2021. As a council member, he focused efforts on the Las Vegas Trail and Como neighborhoods, two economically depressed, majority-minority neighborhoods.
In Las Vegas Trail, he assisted in establishing the LVT Rise community center which still provides resources to the community. In Como, he secured a federal grant to spend millions revitalizing Horne Street, the main thoroughfare, and helped establish the Como Community Center.
“Dr. Byrd has the technical knowledge, the executive leadership experience, and a proven track record that I know will add tremendous value to the Tarrant County Public Health Department," Commissioner Manny Ramirez, a Republican who represents parts of west Fort Worth, said in a press release.
Commissioner Roy Brooks, a Democrat who previously expressed apprehension about finding a replacement for Taneja, called Byrd's appointment an "inspired choice."
“He’s got the requisite knowledge about the community and the confidence of the people of Tarrant County to lead that department to its next level of excellence," Brooks said in a press release. "I thank Dr. Byrd for being willing to step up and make himself available for this next great task ahead of him.”
Byrd left his role as a council member to run for mayor in 2021. He later endorsed Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker after being forced to drop out of the race. He more recently considered running to replace longtime Congresswoman Kay Granger, but later decided against running.
Byrd has previously been criticized for comments he made in 2016 that opposed Fort Worth ISD's newly adopted policies for LGBTQ students, specifically those that relate to transgender students. Byrd later clarified that he opposed elements of the policy that instructed teachers not to out transgender students to their parents. The policy was later revised to remove that guidance.
Byrd is a Tarrant County native and attended the University of Texas at Austin. He received a Doctor of Medicine from UT Health San Antonio, according to his LinkedIn.