Andrea Palm

Andrea Palm (born 1973) is an American government health advisor serving as the secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Palm would be nominated to serve as United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the incoming Biden administration.[1] She previously worked as a senior staffer in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and White House policy advisor during the presidency of Barack Obama and was an aide to Hillary Clinton during her time in the United States Senate.[2]

Andrea Palm
United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentJoe Biden
SucceedingEric Hargan
Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Designee
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
GovernorTony Evers
Preceded byLinda Seemeyer
Personal details
Born1973 (age 47–48)
Star Lake, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Dan Utech
​
(m. 2012)​
EducationCornell University (BS)
Washington University (MSW)

Early life and education

Palm was born and raised in Star Lake, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human services studies from Cornell University and Master of Social Work from the Washington University in St. Louis.[3]

Career

Palm began her career as a legislative assistant for California Congressman Bob Matsui. She then worked as a health policy advisor to then-U.S. Senator, Hillary Clinton. In 2009, Palm was appointed deputy assistant United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for Legislation by President Barack Obama. Since the role of Assistant Secretary for Legislation was vacant, she served as Acting Assistant Secretary during that time. Palm then served as a policy advisor to the United States Domestic Policy Council at the White House. She rejoined the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as an advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and Chief of Staff of the HHS.[4][5][6]

Wisconsin DHS

In January 2019, Governor-elect Tony Evers nominated Palm to serve as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Palm and other Evers-nominated cabinet secretaries began performing their duties while their confirmation hearings were pending. Palm's nomination stalled in the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature, with members citing Palms decision to name a former Planned Parenthood lobbyist as her deputy.[7][8] Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader, Scott L. Fitzgerald, has continued to block Palm's nomination from appearing before a full Senate vote.[9]

COVID-19 response

While still acting as Secretary-designate, Palm was tasked with managing Wisconsin's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Various mayors requested that Palm use emergency authorities as Secretary to mail ballots to every registered voter, so as not to require voters to cast ballots in person in the April 2020 primary election. Governor Tony Evers signed an executive order for all-mail-in election, but the order was rejected by the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature.[10]

In March 2020, in order to slow the transmission of COVID-19, Governor Evers issued an order restricting nonessential travel and the operation of nonessential businesses. The order expired in late April 2020, but on May 26, 2020, Palm extended the order at Evers' direction. Republican state legislators sued Palm, seeking to strike down her order. Palm's updated stay-at-home order was struck down in a ruling by the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, effectively reopening several businesses in the state against warnings by public health officials. In the 4–3 decision, the Court ruled that while Evers had emergency powers authority, Palm did not.[10][11][12]

Biden administration

On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Palm would be nominated to serve as United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services in the incoming Biden administration.[1] Palm subsequently announced that her last day at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services would be January 20, 2021.[13]

Personal life

Palm is married to Dan Utech, a former advisor in the United States Department of Energy and United States Domestic Policy Council. Utech later served as Deputy Assistant to Barack Obama for Energy and Climate Change before becoming a lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.[14][15]

References
  1. Rein, Lisa (January 18, 2021). "Biden, filling out his government, to name five women as deputy secretaries". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  2. "Executive Team Bios". Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 2014-09-12. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  3. Wise, David. "Profile: Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm". WisPolitics.com. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  4. "Gov.-elect Tony Evers appoints former Obama administration official Andrea Palm to Cabinet". TMJ4. 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  5. "Evers' pick for DHS secretary plans to improve healthcare affordability, access". Wisconsin Health News. 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  6. Martens, Bill (2019-04-08). "Andrea Palm". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  7. "Evers' pick to lead health agency wins committee approval". WMTV. Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  8. "Evers' official: Ex-Planned Parenthood VP has no legal say". Associated Press. 2019-02-27. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  9. "Another view: Republicans are being petty with our new governor". Lake Geneva News. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  10. "Mayors in Wisconsin call on Secretary Andrea Palm to Delay Election". City of Madison, Wisconsin (Press release). April 5, 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  11. "Some Local Governments in Wisconsin Drop Stay-At-Home Orders". Associated Press. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  12. "Wisconsin Supreme Court Invalidates State's COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order". Reuters. 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  13. Spicuzza, Mary (January 18, 2021). "Andrea Palm to join Biden administration; former Doyle secretary Karen Timberlake tapped to lead Wisconsin health agency". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  14. "Real Wedding: Andrea and Dan". Washingtonian. 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  15. "Dan Utech". Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.