DSHS Organizational Chart

DSHS Description 
HHS Executive Commissioner Office of the Commissioner

John Hellerstedt, MD, Commissioner of Public Health

Manages:

• Kirk Cole, Deputy Commissioner
• Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, Chief State Epidemiologist
  
• Imelda Garcia, MPH, Laboratory & Infectious Disease Services, Associate Commissioner
• David Gruber, Regional & Local Health Operations, Associate Commissioner
• Timothy Stevenson, DVM, PhD, Consumer Protection, Associate Commissioner
  
• Manda Hall, MD, Community Health Improvement, Associate Commissioner
  
• Barbara L. Klein, Senior Advisor

Office of the Deputy Commissioner

Kirk Cole, Deputy Commissioner

Manages:

• Ricardo Garcia, Chief of Staff
• Stephen Pont, MD, MPH, Center for Public Health Policy & Practice Medical Director
• Donna Sheppard, Chief Financial Officer
• Roberto Beaty, Program Operations, Associate Commissioner
  

Senior Advisor

Barbara L Klein, JD, EMPL

HHSC Liaison

• Cynthia Hernandez, DSHS General Counsel

Manages:

• Stephanie Kermah, Privacy Analyst
• Claudio McCoy, Investigator
• Chris Salazar, Program Specialist 

Center for Public Health Policy & Practice

Stephen Pont, MD, MPH,  Medical Director 

Manages:

• Courtney Denzendorf, MPH, Office of Practice & Learning, Director
• Aelia Khan Akhtar, Center for Health Policy and Performance, Director
• Vacant, Partnership Lead

Finance

Donna Sheppard, Chief Financial Officer

Manages:

• Christy Havel, Federal Funds, Deputy CFO
• Leslie Aguilar, Accounting, Director
• Amanda Hudson, Budget, Director

Program Operations

Roberto Beaty, Associate Commissioner

Manages:

• Danyale Bryant, Business Support & Planning, Director
• Ann Duncan, Fiscal Monitoring, Director
• Gabe Pina, Program Support Operations, Director
• Patty Melchior, Contract Management, Director
• Madhavi Koganti, Public Health Portfolio Project Manager

Chief of Staff

Ricky Garcia, Chief of Staff

Manages:

• Rachael Hendrickson, Center for External Relations, Director
• Mercy Bryant, Center for System Coordination & Innovation, Director
• Nicole Guerrero, HHS Internal Audit, Director
  

Center for External Relations

Rachael Hendrickson, Director

Manages:

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

Center for System Coordination and Innovation

Mercy Bryant, PHD, MBA, Director

Manages:

• Yesenia Rodriguez, Process Improvement, Director
• Angelica Martinez, Executive Operations and Support Manager

Chief State Epidemiologist

Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH

Manages:

• Diana Martinez, PhD, Deputy State Epidemiologist, Director 
• Lisa Wyman, PhD, Center for Health Statistics, Director
• Carrie Bradford, PhD, Data Governance, Director
• Saroj Rai, PhD, MPH, Senior Scientific Advisor, Director

Laboratory and Infectious Disease Services

Imelda Garcia, MPH, Associate Commissioner

Manages:

• Monica Gamez, Deputy Associate Commissioner
• Vacant, Infectious Disease Medical Officer
• Vacant, Public Health Informatics & Data Exchange, Director
• Grace Kubin, PhD, Laboratory Services Section, Director
• Paul Grunenwald, DVM, Infectious Disease Prevention Section, Director
• Josh Hutchison, Interim, TB/HIV/STD Section, Director
• Adesuwa Ebomwonyi, Special Projects Coordinator
  
• Antonio Aragon, Interim, Immunization Section Director
  

Regional & Local Health Operations

Dave Gruber, Associate Commissioner

Manages:

• Nancy Ejuma, PhD, Deputy Associate Commissioner
• Jeff Hoogheem, Center for Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (CHEPR), Director
• John Lopez, Texas Center for Infectious Disease, Director
• Karin Hopkins, Office of Border Public Health, Director
• Angel Angco-Barrera, MBA, BSN, RN, Public Health Nursing Director
• Peter Pendegrass, MD, MPH, Preventive Medicine Residency Program Director
  
• Scott Milton, MD, Region 1, Regional Medical Director
• Aurelia Schmalstieg, MD, Region 2/3, Regional Medical Director
• Sharon Huff, MD, MS, Region 4/5, Regional Medical Director
• Carlos Plasencia, MD, MSPH, Region 5/6, Regional Medical Director
• Sharon Melville, MD, MPH, Region 7, Regional Medical Director
• Lillian Ringsdorf, MD, MPH, Region 8, Regional Medical Director
• Rachel Sonne, MD, MPH, Region 9/10, Regional Medical Director
• Emilie Prot, MD, DO, MPH, Region 11, Regional Medical Director

Consumer Protection

Timothy Stevenson, DVM, PhD, Associate Commissioner

Manages:

• Luis Morales, MBA, Deputy Associate Commissioner
• Chris Drews, Compliance, Director
• Charlotte Sullivan, EdD, Environmental Director
• Kevin Veal, PhD, Food and Drug, Director
• James Dillon, DVM, MPH, Meat Safety Assurance, Director
• Lisa Bruedigan,  Radiation Director
  
• Jorie Klein, RN, EMS/Trauma Systems, Director

Community Health Improvement

Manda Hall, MD, Associate Commissioner

Manages:

• Jeremy Triplett, Deputy Associate Commissioner
• Kelly Fegan-Bohm, Medical Director
• Lori Gabbert-Charney, Maternal & Child Health, Director
• Tara Das, PhD, Vital Statistics, State Registrar
• Heidi Bojes, PhD, Environmental Epidemiology & Disease Registries, Director
• Nimisha Bhakta, Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention, Director
• Karen Ruggiero, PhD, Office of Coordination & Special Projects, Director