Cris Harrelson has 25 years of public health experience, both on the local and state level. He began his career in 1994 in Bladen County as an Environmental Health Specialist, eventually moving up to the Environmental Health Coordinator position in 1997. He accepted a position as a Regional Environmental Health Specialist with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2004 and, after the Environmental Health Section was moved to NC Department of Health and Human Services, moved to the Food Defense Coordinator position in 2007. In July of 2013, he accepted the position of Health and Human Services Director with Bladen County. There, he oversaw all functions of the Departments of Health, Social Services, Aging, and Public Transportation. In October of 2015, he accepted the position of Director of Brunswick County Health Services. As such, he assures local, state, and federal guidelines are applied to all services provided within the department, maintains fiscal responsibility for department budgets, provides leadership and guidance to administrative operations, and assures productivity measures, quality assurance, and monitoring mechanisms are in place and utilized. Cris also serves as the Chair of the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors’ Opioid Misuse Work Group.
Cris received his Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina State University and his Masters of Public Administration degree (with a Health Administration concentration) from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He is married to Randie Buie Harrelson and has one son (Stephen) who is a rising Senior at Campbell University.