STATE LEADERS REIMAGINE REFORM:
IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
June 5, 2012
Richard Armstrong was appointed the director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in June 2006 by Governor Jim Risch and reappointed in January 2007 by Governor C. L.
“Butch” Otter. Armstrong serves as the executive and administrative head of the department, which employs more than 3,100 people and has an annual budget of $2 billion. Prior to his appointment, Armstrong was the senior vice president of sales and marketing at Blue Cross of
Idaho, where he was employed for 36 years.
Reggie Bicha was appointed the executive director of the Colorado Department of Human
Services in 2011 by Governor John Hickenlooper. A social worker, administrator, and educator,
Bicha served as the first secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Bicha received Colorado Counties, Inc.’s Local/State Partnership Award for his leadership in reducing administrative burdens and unnecessary mandates. CDHS is revising or repealing more than 66 percent of its rules because they were deemed outdated, unnecessary, or overly burdensome.
Albert Delia became the acting secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and
Human Services in February. In 2009, he joined the staff of Governor Bev Perdue as her policy director and senior adviser. From 2006 to 2009, Delia was the president and CEO of North
Carolina’s Eastern Region Development Commission. Delia served for over ten years as the associate vice chancellor for research, economic development, and community engagement at
East Carolina University.
Olivia Golden (moderator) is an Institute fellow at the Urban Institute and the director of the
Work Support Strategies initiative. Her research focuses on the service delivery, leadership, and policy strategies used by human services programs. Previous posts include director of state operations for New York’s governor, director of the District of Columbia’s Child and Family
Services Agency, and assistant secretary for children and families at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. She is the author of Reforming Child Welfare .
Sandra Powell has been the director of the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, which administers the state’s major economic support programs, since January 2011. She also oversees vocational rehabilitation, elderly, and veteran services. Previously, she served for three years as the director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. Powell has worked in progressively senior positions in Rhode Island state government for over twenty years, where she has focused on delivering workforce and social services to Rhode Islanders in need.