Welcome to the Office of Kelly Garcia, the Director of the Iowa Department of Health Human Services (HHS). Kelly wants to hear from you – request a meeting with her by emailing director@dhs.state.ia.us.
Note: If you have an inquiry specific to an appeal, you must visit the Appeals Page on our website for information on contacting HHS regarding these matters. Directly contacting Director Garcia may conflict the director from making the final decision.
Praised for transformative leadership, Kelly Kennedy Garcia serves as the inaugural Director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Governor Kim Reynolds appointed Garcia to oversee the state’s social services agency in November 2019. She was unanimously confirmed by the Iowa Senate on February 26, 2020. Later that year, Garcia was asked to serve as interim public health Director. As a dual director, Garcia led the agency’s pandemic response, while shepherding consolidation to a single health and human services structure.
Two years later, Kelly leads Iowa’s largest agency, focused on life-span services and prevention, with a commitment to transparency and accountability. The key to this success is building strong teams, transforming the agency’s business processes, and driving home on a human-centered strategic vision.
Before moving to the Hawkeye state, Garcia led improvements in organizational structure, program management, and policy development in the great state of Texas, including serving in several executive positions at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Garcia has more than 20 years of experience in program evaluation and budget, planning and policy development.
Garcia is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and received her MPA from The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She is Chair of the American Public Human Services Association Leadership Council and is actively engaged in the Center for Public Sector AI. She is married to attorney Dan Garcia, and they have two children.