Retired Director, Austin Public Health

Shannon W. Jones IIIMPA

A career in public health and education, spent bringing care to the Travis County communities that need it most, from the director's office at Austin Public Health to eight years on the Central Health Board of Managers.

His work Get in touch

Austin Public Health

Director, retired April 2017

Central Health

Board of Managers, 2017 to 2025

Health Talk

Founder and host, KAZI 88.7 FM

The work Health care, close to the ground

Shannon Jones joined the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department in 1999, rose to Deputy Director, and retired in April 2017 as Director of Austin Public Health. The Travis County Commissioners Court then appointed him to the Central Health Board of Managers, where he served for eight years, pressing for care in the communities with the least access to it.

Health equity

Program services and structures built for people of color, women, LGBTQIA residents and others facing the widest health disparities.

Community outreach

Door to door, church to church and meeting to meeting, so that residents are heard before decisions are made about their care.

Eastern Travis County

Services for medically underserved areas, including the Hornsby Bend and Del Valle health and wellness centers.

Men's health

Clinical services delivered through a partnership with the Black Men's Health Clinic, focused on men of color and their access to care.

Tuberculosis

Chair of the CDC Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis from 2011 to 2014, with national work on TB disparities.

Mentoring

Encouraging young men of color, and many others, toward higher education, good careers and service to their communities.

Where it comes from

Nashville, and a family in the Civil Rights movement

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Shannon Jones grew up in a family where service was expected. His parents were active in the Civil Rights movement and his grandfather was a leader in that era. He credits them, and the young people he has mentored and helped raise, for a lifetime of investing in others.

Career From the classroom to the county

Before public health, he spent much of his working life in higher education: in administration at several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as a professor of public administration at an Atlanta university, and at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he was assistant to the president and taught political science.

Shannon Jones in the lobby of a community health clinic

Shannon Jones walking along a tree-lined street in the morning

Public service

2017 to 2025Board of Managers, Central Health, the Travis County Hospital District
to April 2017Director, Austin Public Health, City of Austin. The department earned accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board, among the first five accredited public health agencies in Texas.
2011 to 2015Deputy Director, Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department
1999Joined the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department
2011 to 2014Chair, Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
LocalChair, Austin/Travis County Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning
RadioFounder and host of Health Talk on KAZI 88.7 FM for about a decade

Education and affiliations

BAOglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia
MPAUniversity of Pittsburgh
Doctoral studyCoursework toward a doctorate in Management and Policy, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston
FellowshipWoodrow Wilson Fellow
MemberAssociate, American College of Healthcare Executives; National Forum for Black Public Administrators

Recognition

2015Garnet F. Coleman “Eternal Flame” award, Central Texas African American Family Support Conference, for commitment to mental health awareness and health disparities

In his words “A very committed community person”

In December 2025, as his board service came to an end, Central Health published a look back at his eight years. These lines are his, and one is from Central Health's President and CEO.

Read the article

“The data is clear: men of color bear a disproportionate burden of disease and death.”

Shannon Jones, on the Black Men's Health Clinic partnership

“I can say that, as a result of intervention, we now have those services out there.”

Shannon Jones, on Eastern Travis County

“Their attendance, their questions, and their collaboration made a difference.”

Shannon Jones, on the 2025 Community Conversation in Manor

“His commitment to equity, his advocacy for communities too often overlooked, and his unwavering belief in our mission have left a lasting mark.”

Dr. Pat Lee, President and CEO, Central Health