Rendi Murphree, MS, PhD, returned to the Gulf Coast after retiring as a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service with 20 years of service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Murphree has extensive experience in public health surveillance and outbreak investigation as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service and Career Epidemiology Field Officer. She joined the Mobile County Health Department just months before the COVID-19 Pandemic reached Alabama. With her colleagues, Dr. Murphree worked tirelessly to guide COVID-19 response. She personally analyzed data and published reports that informed city and county leaders and informed the community. Dr. Murphree consulted with nursing homes, detention centers, homeless shelters and group homes to slow COVID-19 outbreaks in these high-risk settings. She became a reluctant and trusted spokesperson for the MCHD and feels blessed to serve Mobile community.