Columbus Health Commissioners
Teresa C. Long, MD, MPH
Health Commissioner
Dr. Teresa C. Long became the first female Health Commissioner for Columbus in 2002. She was appointed to the post by Mayor Michael B. Coleman and the Columbus Board of Health. Prior to this appointment, she served as Medical Director and Assistant Health Commissioner for the Columbus Health Department from 1986 until 2002.
Before coming to Columbus, Dr. Long served on the front lines of the emerging AIDS epidemic as a physician specialist with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. She conducted her preventive medicine residency with the California Department of Health Services where she developed perinatal AIDS guidelines in addition to other duties.
Upon her arrival in Columbus, Dr. Long was instrumental in organizing both the department's and the community's response to HIV/AIDS. Her commitment and attention to this disease have been unwavering. In addition to serving on numerous boards and committees, locally, statewide and nationally, Dr. Long is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. She was the first recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for Pioneering Efforts to Improve Women's and Community Health. She holds a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of California – San Francisco and a Master of Public Health from the University of California – Berkeley.
Mysheika Williams Roberts, MD, MPH
Assistant Health Commissioner
Medical Director
Dr. Mysheika Williams Roberts joined Columbus Public Health in 2006. A graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Roberts has extensive public health experience. Most recently, she served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, investigating outbreaks in Ohio and conducting epidemiologic investigations.
Dr. Roberts served as the medical director of the Eastern Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinic at the Baltimore (Maryland) City Health Department. In addition to overseeing the clinic and providing direct services to clients, she instituted a hepatitis screening initiative and was responsible for a new hepatitis vaccine program. She also served as clinical instructor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Roberts completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical System and currently holds an Ohio medical license. In addition to her medical degree from the University of Maryland, she also received a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts-Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
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Nancie Bechtel, RN, MPH, BSN, CEN, EMTB
Assistant Health Commissioner
Chief Nursing Officer
Nancie Bechtel joined Columbus Public Health in 2011 as Chief Nursing Officer and Assistant Health Commissioner. In her role, she leads the department’s nursing functions, addressed community health issues, serves as a liaison with healthcare, academic and community partners, and responds to public health threats.
Before coming to Columbus Public Health, Ms. Bechtel was the director of the Central Ohio Trauma System (COTS) where she was a champion for injury prevention and emergency care in central Ohio. During her 13 year tenure at COTS, she served as a trauma program manager and trauma nurse coordinator. During her nursing career, she was an Emergency Department Care Manager for Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a staff nurse at Mount Carmel and Grant Medical Centers. In addition to her vast experience, Ms. Bechtel holds a Master of Public Health in Health Services Management & Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Ohio State University, as well as a certification as an emergency medical technician.
Ms. Bechtel is a member of many professional organizations, including the Ohio Nurses Association, Ohio Organization of Nurse Executives, Ohio State Council of the Emergency Nurses Association and the Central Ohio Chapter Emergency Nurses Association. Additionally, she has been published in many professional publications, given hundreds of presentations and received several awards.
Roger D. Cloern, CPA
Assistant Health Commissioner
Roger C. Cloern has been appointed assistant health commissioner at Columbus Public Health in 2007. Mr. Cloern works closely with the health commissioner to guide and help manage the budget process and manage the administrative functions for the department.
Mr. Cloern also served Columbus Public Health most recently as special assistant to the commissioner, and prior to that as acting fiscal manager. In these roles, he was responsible for preparing budgets for Health Special Revenue and grant funds for the health department. Mr.. Cloern was also responsible for reviewing and approving legislation, forecasting revenues, approving expenditure requests, and presenting financial information to the Columbus Board of Health and other external users. He also worked as an income tax auditor I, auditing tax returns and financial statements to determine the correct tax liability.
A Certified Public Accountant since 1986, Mr. Cloern has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.
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