Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH
About
Dr. Mandy Cohen was appointed to the role of Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in January 2017 by Governor Roy Cooper.
DHHS has 17,000 employees and an annual budget of $20 billion serving as the home to NC Medicaid, Public Health, Mental Health/IDD/SUD, State Operated Hospitals and Facilities, Economic Services, Adult and Child Services, Early Childhood Education, Employment Services and Health Services Regulation.
Secretary Cohen is an internal medicine physician and has experience leading complex health organizations. Before coming to DHHS, she was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where her responsibilities included implementing policies for Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
Secretary Cohen has been recognized a national leader for her work at DHHS. In February of 2019, Modern Healthcare named Secretary Cohen one of the "Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare." In 2018, Rock Health honored her with a “Top 50 in Digital Health” award for DHHS initiatives incorporating healthy opportunities across the Department’s work as well as using data to drive program improvements.
A graduate of Cornell University, Secretary Cohen received her medical degree from Yale School of Medicine and a master’s in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
