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HHSC Executive Commissioner

Office of the Commissioner

Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, Commissioner of Public Health

Manages:

  • Kirk Cole, Chief Deputy Commissioner
  • Imelda Garcia, MPH, Senior Advisor
  • Rachael Hendrickson, MPA, Chief of Staff
  • Barbara L Klein, JD, EMPL, Senior Compliance & Accountability Official
  • Varun Shetty, MD, MBA, MS, Chief State Epidemiologist
  • Grace Kubin, PhD, Public Health Laboratory, Deputy Commissioner
  • Josh Hutchison, MBA, Infectious Disease Prevention, Deputy Commissioner
  • David Gruber, Regional & Local Health Operations, Deputy Commissioner
  • Timothy Stevenson, DVM, PhD, Consumer Protection, Deputy Commissioner
  • Manda Hall, MD, Community Health Improvement, Deputy Commissioner

HHSC Liaisons

  • Cynthia Hernandez, JD, MS, DSHS General Counsel
  • Nicole Guerrero, HHS Internal Audit Director
  • Sylvia Kauffman, Information Resources Manager

Chief Deputy Commissioner

Kirk Cole, Chief Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Mercy Bryant, PhD, MPA, Center for System Coordination and Innovation, Director
  • Stephen Pont, MD, MPH, Center for Public Health Policy and Practice Medical Director
  • Vacant, Program Operations, Deputy Commissioner
  • Christy Havel-Burton, MPA, Chief Financial Officer

Senior Advisor

Imelda Garcia, MPH

Manages:

  • Monica Gamez, Public Health Data Strategy and Modernization, Director

Chief of Staff

Rachael Hendrickson, MPA, Chief of Staff

Manages:

  • Jordan Hill-Shepherd, Government Affairs, Director
  • Jennifer Van Gilder, Communications, Director
  • Chris Van Deusen, Media Relations, Director

Office of Compliance and Accountability

Barbara L Klein, JD, EMPL

Manages:

  • Ann Duncan, Fiscal Monitoring and Support, Director

Center for System Coordination and Innovation Director

Mercy Bryant, PhD, MPA

Manages:

  • Angelica Martinez, MS, BSW, LBSW
  • Kirk Dobson, Process Improvement Director

Center for Public Health Policy and Practice

Stephen Pont, MD, MPH, Medical Director

Manages:

  • Courtney Denzendorf, MPH, Office of Practice & Learning, Director
  • Zena Hooper, PsyD, Office of Public Health Policy, Director
  • Elizabeth Howard, MD, Office of Preventive Medicine, Director
  • Cristina Garcia, PhD, MHS, Public Health Research Advancement, Director
  • Jessica Hyde, MS, CHES, Public Health Partnership Advancement, Director

Program Operations

Vacant, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Kevin Davis, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • Seth Stallings, Program Support Operations, Director
  • Danyale Bryant, Business Support & Planning, Director
  • Patty Melchior, Contract Management, Director 
  • Madhavi Koganti, Public Health Portfolio Project Manager

Finance

Christy Havel-Burton, MPA, Chief Financial Officer

Manages:

  • Loris Tran, Federal Funds, Deputy CFO
  • Leslie Aguilar, Accounting, Director
  • Amanda Hudson, Budget, Director

Chief State Epidemiologist

Varun Shetty, MD, MBA, MS, Chief State Epidemiologist

Manages:

  • Diana Martinez, PhD, Deputy Chief State Epidemiologist
  • James Farris, Center for Health Statistics, Director
  • Paul Grunenwald, DVM, MS, Disease Surveillance and Epidemiology, Director

Public Health Laboratory

Grace Kubin, PhD, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Susan Tanksley, PhD, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • Lisa Hutson, Quality Assurance, Director
  • Aurora Martinez, South Texas Laboratory, Director
  • Megan Sim, Laboratory Business Operations, Director

Infectious Disease Prevention

Josh Hutchison, MBA, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Aelia Akhtar, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • Vacant, Immunization, Director
  • D'Andra Luna, HIV/STD, Director
  • Sandra Morris, MPH, TB and Hansen’s Disease, Director

Regional & Local Health Operations

Dave Gruber, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Rachel Samsel, MSSW, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • John Lopez, Texas Center for Infectious Disease (TCID), Director
  • Vacant, Office of Border Public Health (OBPH), Director
  • Jeff Hoogheem, Center for Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (CHEPR), Director
  • Regional Medical Directors:
    • Scott Milton, MD, Public Health Region 1
    • Aurelia Schmalstieg, MD, Public Health Region 2/3
    • Sharon Huff, MD, MS, Public Health Region 4/5
    • Carlos Plasencia, MD, MSPH, Public Health Region 6/5
    • Sharon Melville, MD, MPH, Public Health Region 7
    • Lillian Ringsdorf, MD, MPH, Public Health Region 8
    • Vacant, Public Health Region 9/10
    • Emilie Prot, DO, MPH, Public Health Region 11

Consumer Protection

Timothy Stevenson, DVM, PhD, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Luis Morales, MBA, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • Chris Drews, Compliance, Director
  • Annabelle Dillard, Environmental, Director
  • Adam Buuck, Food and Drug, Director
  • James Dillon, DVM, MPH, Meat Safety Assurance, Director
  • Lisa Bruedigan, RT, RDMS, Radiation, Director
  • Jorie Klein, MSN, MHA, BSN, RN, EMS/Trauma Systems, Director

Community Health Improvement

Manda Hall, MD, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

  • Jeremy Triplett, Associate Deputy Commissioner
  • Lori Gabbert-Charney, MPA, Maternal & Child Health, Director
  • Tara Das, PhD, Vital Statistics, State Registrar
  • Heidi Bojes, PhD, Environmental Epidemiology & Disease Registries, Director
  • Nimisha Bhakta, MPH, Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention, Director