King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles was elected to chair the county’s Board of Health on Feb. 21.

The Board of Health is responsible for setting countywide policies and regulations protecting and promoting the health of its residents. She has served as an alternate on the board since 2016.

“I’m eager to drive our agenda, tackling difficult issues and exploring new policies and strategies aimed at improving health outcomes for all,” she said in a press release.

Kohl-Welles will focus on creating a public health approach to domestic violence as a top priority. According to the World Health Organization, the health burden of violence against women is often higher than for other public health priorities. She will also focus on work dealing with missing and murdered indigenous women, pesticides in marijuana, food allergens and gun violence reduction, the press release said.

The Board of Health is made up of 11 board members and meets at 1:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the council’s chambers.