The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) provides essential services to improve the quality of life for Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.
Department of Health and Social Services Cabinet Secretary Christen Linke Young is a nationally recognized health policy leader with more than 15 years of experience in federal and state government. She served as Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for Health and Veterans from 2021 to 2025. In that role, she led the Administration’s health policy team as a senior White House staff member, overseeing implementation of the prescription drug pricing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, efforts to achieve the lowest uninsured rate in U.S. history, and national initiatives addressing crises in maternal health, mental health, and overdoses.
Before her White House service, Young was Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, leading initiatives in Medicaid, behavioral health, public health, and social services programs.
She also held senior roles at the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Obama White House. In addition, she has served as a Fellow at the Brookings Institution, producing nationally recognized research on health coverage, pricing, and outcomes.
Young holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University.
DHSS Leadership Team
The Office of the Secretary (OSEC) Leadership Team provides administrative oversight for the Department of Health and Social Services, setting policy, as well as representing and advocating for the agency with the Office of the Governor, members of the General Assembly and community stakeholders. The OSEC leadership team also recommends and manages state and federal funding for the agency’s nine public-facing divisions delivering health and social services that touch nearly every Delawarean.
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Secretary | Christen Linke Young | Christen.Young@delaware.gov |
| Deputy Cabinet Secretary | Dava Newnam | Dava.Newnam@delaware.gov |
| Deputy Cabinet Secretary | Lisa Schieffert | Lisa.Schieffert2@delaware.gov |
| Deputy Cabinet Secretary | Andrew Wilson | Andrew.Wilson@delaware.gov |
| Chief Operating Officer / Associate Deputy Secretary | Rebecca Reichardt | Rebecca.Reichardt@delaware.gov |
| Chief of Staff | Julie Devlin | Julie.Devlin@delaware.gov |
| Executive Assistant to the Cabinet Secretary | Susan Bailey | Susan.Bailey@delaware.gov |
| Executive Assistant | Jerry Birdwell | Jerry.Birdwell@delaware.gov |
| Chief Policy Advisor | Alexa Scoglietti | Alexa.Scoglietti@delaware.gov |
| Legislative Director | James Berryhill | James.Berryhill@delaware.gov |
| Director of Complex Case Unit | Benjamin Griffith | Benjamin.Griffith@delaware.gov |
| Director of Community Relations | Martha Lodge | Martha.LodgeHelojoki@delaware.gov |
| Director of Constituent Relations | Leigherin Williams | Leigherin.Williams@delaware.gov |
| Deputy Director of Communications | Timothy Mastro | Timothy.Mastro@delaware.gov |
| Manager of Internal Communications | Jeffrey Gentry | Jeffrey.Gentry@delaware.gov |
| Chief Accessibility and Digital Officer | Joshua Garnick | Joshua.Garnick@delaware.gov |
| Community Relations Officer | Emily Belitskus | Emily.Belitskus1@delaware.gov |
| State Long-Term Care Ombudsman | Judith Ramirez | Judith.Ramirez1@delaware.gov |
| Freedom of Information Act Coordinator | Eschalla Clarke | Eschalla.Clarke@delaware.gov |
