RALEIGH — A Lumberton native has been chosen to serve in a leadership role by a group of public health associations.

Katye Jobe Griffin was hired as executive director by the the North Carolina Alliance of Public Health Agencies, the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors, and the North Carolina Public Health Association. Griffin assumed her new role Thursday.

Griffin is an attorney with a special interest in health law and policy. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in Florida and her law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Griffin began her legal career with a large firm in Raleigh, focusing her practice on transactional, regulatory, and government relations work.

Most recently, Griffin has been managing her husband’s statewide judicial election campaign while he was deployed with the N.C. Army National Guard.

“After an extensive search and rigorous process of evaluating potential candidates, we are extremely excited to have Katye join our team and provide essential leadership for our collective associations,” said Davin Madden, president of the NCAPHA. “In a time like no other in the history of North Carolina, the relevance of public health has been demonstrated and we look forward to continuing the commitment to protect, promote, and prevent and we know Katye will bring another dimension to our effort by propelling the value of what we do ever forward in such pivotal times.”

Griffin said in a statement that she is thrilled to join the associations as their new executive director.

“Now, more than ever, we are reminded of how vitally important public health is to our state and its citizens,” she said. “I look forward to working with the associations and their members to improve public health for all North Carolinians.”

The NCAPHA is an organization that provides services to support the Local Health Departments and the NC Department of Public Health. The NCALHD is a membership organization consisting of leaders of the 85 local public health agencies across the state. The NCPHA is an association of individuals and organizations working to improve the public’s health through political advocacy, public awareness, professional development, and the interface between research and practice.