Meet the Staff: Bob Stephens

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

Bob Stephens has been with the Garrett County Health Department for 23 years. For the last 7 years he has served as Health Officer. Sometimes you might see him riding his bike to work, but, what else do you know about him?

Bob graduated from Bruce High School in Westernport, which closed in 1986. He received his bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan, and his master’s degree from Frostburg State. He has completed leadership training courses from the Maryland Department of Health Institute and the Johns Hopkins University’s Mid-Atlantic Health Leadership Institute.

Bob’s first job was delivering newspapers, but do we really want to go back that far? He spent 10 years working at Burlington United Methodist Family Services, finishing up as the Director of Treatment. After almost 2 years as Treatment Supervisor at MD Department. of Juvenile Services in Cumberland, Bob served as President and CEO of GC Partnership for Children and Families for 9 years. When he finally moved to the Health Department in 2000, he started as Director of Behavioral Health.

“The favorite part of my job is working with all the great staff at GCHD to improve the health and wellness of the community,” Bob said.

In addition to biking, Bob enjoys playing music, singing, skiing, whitewater kayaking and reading biographies. He has even been a professional whitewater guide. With all those outgoing hobbies, you might think of Bob as an extrovert, but he says he is secretly an introvert.

Bob has two favorite quotes: “The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates and “He has shown thee, o man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you.  To do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.”  Micah 6:8