Kerry Gai Chant is a public health physician who has been the Chief Health Officer of New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, since 2008. She gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic providing regular public health advice for New South Wales, a contribution for which she was named the state's Woman of the Year in March 2021.

Early life

Chant grew up in

Punchbowl, New South Wales Punchbowl is a suburb south west of Sydney, west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. At the , Punchbowl had a population of 20,23 ...

. She attended the Danebank Anglican School for Girls, graduating in 1980. Chant worked in retail jobs and a pharmacy before studying medicine. She attended the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

where she completed a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1987, a Master in Health Administration in 1991 and a Master of Public Health in 1995.

Career

Chant has been with the New South Wales Health Department since 1991 working in the areas of virus infections, communicable diseases prevention and control and Indigenous health. She is currently the Deputy Secretary, Population and Public Health and Chief Health Officer. Prior to this, Chant was Director, Public Health Unit in

Sydney South West Area Health Service Sydney South West Area Health Service, abbreviated SSWAHS and known by the corporate name Sydney South West Health, was an area health service charged with the provision of public health services in central and south-western Sydney. It was formed ...

; Director, Health Protection and Deputy Chief Health Officer. In 2013, she was threatened for advocating fluoridation of the water supply in the

City of Lismore The City of Lismore is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the local government area is Lismore, a major regional centre of the state. The mayor of Lismore City Council since Decemb ...

. During the state's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Chant often appeared alongside premier

Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...

when providing health updates and advice to the public.

Awards

* 2021: NSW Premier's Woman of the Year, and Woman of Excellence Award * 2020:

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

Chancellor's Award for Exceptional Alumni Achievement * 2015: Australian Public Service Medal for "outstanding public service to population health in New South Wales" * 2022: Appointed

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to the people of New South Wales through public health administration and governance, and to medicine".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chant, Kerry Australian women epidemiologists Australian medical doctors Australian public servants Australian women medical doctors Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Place of birth missing (living people) University of New South Wales alumni Recipients of the Public Service Medal (Australia) Year of birth missing (living people)