Napa County Health Officer Dr. Karen Relucio Named Woman Of Year

NAPA, CA — Dr. Karen Relucio, who led Napa County's community response to the coronavirus pandemic by providing critical direction to limit infections and save lives, was named Woman of the Year on Wednesday by California state Sen. Bill Dodd.

"Karen has been instrumental in guiding the people of Napa County through this unprecedented public health crisis," Dodd said. "She rose to the challenge of keeping us safe and more recently, to vaccinate the public. A year later, as the pandemic wanes and our state begins to reopen, we owe her a debt of gratitude for her unswerving devotion to public health."

In her role as public health officer and deputy director for the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency, Relucio and her staff coordinate testing, do contact tracing, handle case and outbreak investigations, analyze and publish COVID-19 data, provide supportive housing, plan for medical surge and mass vaccinations, and field questions on how to safely reopen.

"I am truly honored and humbled to receive this award for the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Relucio said. "Our successful response would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of many unnamed women in Napa County, from our agency and emergency operations center leadership to the line staff and volunteers who have supported our operations [...] and wrap-around services for our clients."

Relucio, who lives in Napa with her husband, has worked for the county since 2015.

From 2006 to 2015, Relucio worked for the San Mateo County Health System as medical director of public health clinics, assistant health officer and chief of infectious diseases. Before that, Relucio was a clinical instructor at Stanford University Medical Center from 2003 to 2006.

Relucio currently serves as president of the California Conference of Local Health Officers and the Health Officers Association of California. She is also an active member of the County Health Executives Association of California and the Napa/Solano County Medical Society.

In 2019, Relucio was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the state's Commission on Emergency Medical Services.