Long Beach health sector just got a new captain steering the ship as Alison King has been officially appointed the Director of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, the announcement came straight from the City Manager's office today.

Breaking through the ceiling with over two decades of experience in human services and a knack for leading public health initiatives, King has been rolling up her sleeves as Acting Director since last October and now she's cementing her position at the helm, City Manager Tom Modica sang her praises saying, "Her critical thinking and innovative approach to problem-solving, coupled with her compassion and genuine leadership, has already made such a positive impact in our Health Department and the way in which we serve our community," according to the City of Long Beach.

King's sprawling new office view includes overseeing an army of over 500 employees and a hefty annual budget that's north of $180 million, a budget built from a vast array of sources, including federal and state funding as well as private donations, with these funds King aims to steer Long Beach's health services towards broader horizons, emphasizing community engagement and transparency.

Long Beach has hit the jackpot with Alison King's long history – she's been part of the city's fabric since 2005 in the Housing Authority and her fingerprints are all over major housing initiatives, for instance, she powered through the Emergency Housing Voucher program, seeing the commitment of all 582 qualifying voucher holders to homes, a first since 2021, and let's not forget the deployment of Stability Housing Vouchers to folks on the edge of homelessness, her work has given the Housing Authority the reputation of a high-flier, consistently bagging accolades from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for its performance, as King herself puts it, "The Health Department touches the lives of everyone who lives, works, studies or plays in Long Beach," as quoted in the City of Long Beach.