DES MOINES – Gov. Terry E. Branstad today appointed Janet Phipps Burkhead as the Director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Gerd Clabaugh the Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Phipps had been serving as interim director of DAS since April 8, 2014. Clabaugh had been serving as interim director of IDPH since January 9, 2014.
“I am pleased today to name two individuals with high integrity, invaluable experience and a passion for service as directors of two important departments,” said Branstad. “I’m confident that Janet and Gerd will continue their work to ensure the departments they lead operate in an efficient and effective manner to provide exceptional service for the Iowa taxpayers.”
The DAS mission is to provide high-quality, affordable infrastructure products and services to Iowa state government customers in a manner that empowers them to provide better service to the citizens of Iowa and support the State of Iowa in achieving economic growth. The formation of DAS is the first and largest endeavor of this kind in the country. DAS has established an alternative to privatization that provides an incentive to employees to drive down the cost of service delivery.
Phipps Burkhead, a resident of Adel, Iowa, is a retired Brigadier General in the Iowa Army National Guard. She earned her undergraduate and Masters of Public Administration from Iowa State University, and her law degree from Drake University. She served as the Director of the Iowa Department of General Services from 1994-1998 and the Michigan Department of Management and Budget from 1998-2001. From 2001-2005, Phipps Burkhead was on active duty with the U.S. Army and attended law school, and from 2005-2014 she worked in the private sector. She began working as DAS General Counsel in February 2014.
IDPH partners with local public health, policymakers, health care providers, business and many others to fulfill its mission of promoting and protecting the health of Iowans.
Clabaugh, a resident of Johnston, Iowa, served as Deputy Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health from August 2011 to January 2014. From 1989-1997, he served as the Director of the Center for Health Policy within the Iowa Department of Public Health. He held positions in the Iowa Department of Personnel and Iowa Department of Administrative Services between the years of 1997-2003. Clabaugh worked in the private sector from 2007-2011, which included serving as the Director of Operations for the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative.
Director Phipps Burkhead’s and Director Clabaugh’s appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.
