Prior to her election as Colorado's Lieutenant Governor, Norton was appointed Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) by Governor Bill Owens, serving in that capacity from 1999–2002. As such, she had regulatory and programmatic responsibilities including bioterrorism preparedness; disease prevention and epidemiology; health facilities; family and community health services; emergency medical services; air and water quality protection; hazardous waste and solid waste management; and consumer protection. She also created the Office of Suicide Prevention, with an emphasis on teen suicide prevention.