Elisabeth (Lis) Handley, M.P.A.
Ms. Elisabeth Handley is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (P-DASH). In this role, she shares responsibility with the Assistant Secretary for Health, for planning, coordinating, and directing substantive program matters; policy and program development; and determining and setting legislative and program priorities covering the full range of public health activities within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health to help lead Americans to healthier lives.
She brings vast leadership experience from within HHS. Prior to her role as P-DASH, Ms. Handley was serving as the Director of the Office of Research Integrity. In the integrity arena, she was the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Deputy Center Director and Acting Director of the Center for Program Integrity, and earlier conducted evaluation and inspections in the HHS Office of Inspector General. At the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and the Health Resources and Services Administration she was responsible for grants and program integrity. Her office at the National Cancer Institute served as a portal into NCI for advocates and professional societies, and she involved consumer advocates in the research process to help improve the feasibility of clinical trials.
As the Director of CMS' Office of Human Capital, Ms. Handley oversaw hiring, employee training and development, compensation, workforce planning, space, performance management, labor relations, and ethics. At CMS, Ms. Handley was also the acting director and the deputy director of the managed care office, which regulated managed care organizations. Also at CMS, she created and led an alliance of partners which did outreach to Medicare beneficiaries and advocacy groups.
She began her federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Social Security Administration, after receiving a master's degree in public administration from Florida State University.
