Key appointments for Health and Human Resources named by Gov.-elect Ralph Northam’s office. Now, let’s get Medicaid expanded in Virginia as soon as possible!
Governor-Elect Ralph Northam Announces Administration Appointments
RICHMOND — Today at the James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Medical Education Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Governor-elect Ralph Northam announced that Dr. Daniel Carey will join the Northam administration as the next Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Governor-elect Northam also announced other key appointments for senior leadership positions within the Health and Human Resources secretariat.
Gena Boyle Berger and Marvin Figueroa will be joining the Northam administration as Deputy Secretaries.
Dr. Jennifer Lee will join the Northam administration as the next Director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services.
David Brown will continue serving as Director of the Department of Health Professions.
“As a physician, ensuring that Virginians are able to access the care they need, when they need it, is deeply personal to me,” said Governor-elect Ralph Northam. “A world-class healthcare system is central to the health of the New Virginia Economy and it will take innovation and leadership to ensure that we are delivering positive outcomes for all Virginians, no matter who you are, no matter where you live. We can all agree that preventing individuals and families from being one medical illness away from financial demise is right. I am confident that this is the right team to work with me on key issues like Medicaid expansion, combating our opioid and mental health crises and making our health care system more innovative and accessible for all Virginians.”
Appointee Biographies
Daniel Carey, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Dan Carey is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Centra, and has been at the forefront of professional healthcare in Lynchburg, Virginia since 1997. Dan has held numerous leadership positions since joining Cardiology Associates of Central Virginia in 1997, which Centra later acquired in 2006. Within a year, he became Medical Director of the Acute MI Program and went on to serve as Director of the Cardiac Cath Lab and Medical Director of Stroobants Heart Center, which performs 5,000+ heart procedures and contributes $10M annually to the system. Dan became the President/Chief Physician Executive of Centra Medical Group (CMG), an $80M organization with 650 employees in 2013. In this capacity, he directed the acquisition of multiple physician practices, growing the medical group from 200 to 300+ providers. He also championed a new compensation model that integrated productivity, quality, service and group culture across specialties. In 2014, Dan was selected to become Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Centra. At Centra, his current responsibilities include information technology services, patient quality and safety efforts, performance improvement initiatives, and functions of the medical staff at Centra’s 3 acute care facilities. In addition, Dan has been the system lead for Centra’s implementation of its new electronic health record. Dan has special interest in medical leadership, and in addition to his roles at Centra, has also served as President of the Lynchburg Academy of Medicine, the Medical Society of Virginia and the MSV Foundation. Dan, a long-term resident of Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia and attended Harvard Medical School.
Gena Boyle Berger, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Gena Boyle Berger currently serves as Assistant Director for Board Relations at United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). In that role, she advises the Board of Directors on national organ allocation policies and served as the lead liaison for major revisions to the national kidney allocation system. Prior to joining UNOS, she served as a health and environmental policy advisor to Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010, and the state domestic violence policy manager for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance from 2010 to 2012. Originally from Kentucky, Gena graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in government from Morehead State University and a Master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Polytechnic University.
Marvin Figueroa, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Marvin B. Figueroa is currently the Senior Policy Advisor for Senator Mark R. Warner. In that capacity, he advises the Senator on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other health care issues related to the Senator’s role on the Senate Finance Committee. In 2016, he was appointed to the Board of Health Professions by Governor Terence R. McAuliffe. He has previously served as president of the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association and the Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia (DLOV). Marvin earned his Master’s degree at Harvard and Bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. Marvin is originally from La Ceiba, Honduras, and an Arlington resident. He is also a proud graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Lee, M.D., Director, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
Dr. Jennifer Lee serves as the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Services and Senior Advisor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She is responsible for overseeing national policy and leading key initiatives for the Nation’s largest integrated health care system, with over 1,200 sites of care serving more than nine million veterans. At the VA, Dr. Lee championed innovative approaches to suicide prevention, expanded telehealth services to improve access to care, and forged strategic partnerships to advance data science and precision medicine. From 2014 to 2016, Dr. Lee served as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources for Governor Terry McAuliffe. She helped launch his “A Healthy Virginia” plan to improve access to care for people with mental illness and address the opioid crisis through innovative Medicaid waivers and programs, led the Governor’s bioscience initiative, and spearheaded new employment opportunities for former combat medics and corpsmen. From 2008 to 2011, she served on the Virginia Board of Medicine. Dr. Lee has also served as a White House Fellow, a health policy fellow on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and a Policy Research Scholar and Associate Professor at George Washington University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University, her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine, and completed her residency at Johns Hopkins. She is a board-certified, practicing emergency physician and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Lee was born in Richmond and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia.
David Brown, Director, Virginia Department of Health Professions
In 2014, David Brown was appointed to the position of Director at the Virginia Department of Health Professions by Governor Terry McAuliffe. David opened his chiropractic office in Charlottesville in 1982. He is a former member of the Virginia Board of Medicine, the Virginia High School League Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and a former president of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards. He was the Mayor of the City of Charlottesville from 2004 to 2008, and in 2009 joined Edison2, a Charlottesville start-up that won the 2010 Automotive XPRIZE. Since 2012 he has worked as the special assistant to Delegate David Toscano. A native of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Dr. Brown graduated from the University of Virginia in 1977, and received his chiropractic degree from Western States Chiropractic College, in Portland, Oregon, in 1981.
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