Director

Bruce Goldberg M.D., is a family medicine physician who has devoted his professional career to improving the organization, delivery and financing of public health services. He has been Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services since November 2005, a position he says he was drawn to because of the opportunity it provides for making a positive difference in the lives of so many people.

During his time with DHS he has led efforts to improve children's access to health care and reduce hunger and food insecurity among Oregonians, has been instrumental in developing plans for revamping the state's mental health system and constructing two new state psychiatric hospitals, and has promoted education and prevention as the most effective means of protecting and improving the health of Oregonians.

Dr. Goldberg's experience also includes serving as head of the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research, Medical Director for CareOregon, Health Officer for Columbia County in Oregon, and Director of Community Health Services in Zuni, New Mexico. He also was a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University for more than 15 years.

Dr. Goldberg has published widely and has served on numerous regional and national advisory boards and committees. He currently is chairman of the American Public Human Services Association's National Policy Council.

He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 from the Oregon Public Health Association, the OHSU School of Medicine's 2000 Faculty Humanism Award, and in 1994 was named a U.S. Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellow.

Dr. Goldberg is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and completed his family medicine training at Duke University.

He and his wife, also a physician, are the proud parents of two daughters, one in college and one in high school. In his spare time he plays the harmonica in a rhythm and blues band and roots for the New York Yankees.

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Deputy Director for Operations

Clyde Saiki (rhymes with Nike) of Salem has been DHS deputy director for Operations since 2005. Prior to that he served for two years as the department's chief administrative officer. Saiki, who began his career at DHS in 1986 as volunteer services supervisor, also has managed agency contracts, facilities and personnel offices. Saiki is a 1980 health-education graduate of Oregon State University.

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Deputy Director for Finance

Jim Scherzinger of Portland was appointed DHS deputy director for Finance in 2007. Prior to joining DHS Scherzinger served for three years as superintendent of Portland Public Schools and before that as chief financial officer for PPS. From 1984 until 1998 he directed the Oregon Legislative Revenue Office, and for the six years preceding that he served as the economist for the Oregon Legislature. He was a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in economics at the University of Oregon, and holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Santa Clara.

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Assistant Director for Addictions and Mental Health

Richard Harris, of Portland, was appointed interim assistant director for DHS Addictions and Mental Health Division in September 2008. Prior to that he served for 13 years as the Executive Director of Central City Concern, a private nonprofit agency serving low-income and homeless individuals in the Portland area. He has 38 years of experience in the field of mental health, chemical dependency, health services and housing, including holding various positions with Central City Concern since it was founded in 1979. He received a Master of Social Work from the University of Utah.

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Assistant Director for Administrative Services - Chief Administrative Officer

Sue Nelson was appointed chief administrative officer in March 2008. She started at DHS in 1998 as a human resources manager, and subsequently was promoted to the positions of assistant district manager for self-sufficiency programs in the Marion, Polk and Yamhill service area; health services deputy; human resources director; and deputy chief administrative officer. During the final four months of 2007 she served as interim director of the Oregon State Board of Nursing. Prior to joining DHS she held several positions within the child support program at the Oregon Department of Justice. At DHS she is responsible for more than 900 employees working in contracts, facilities, document management, human resources, information security, information services, payment accuracy and recovery, and communications, publications and Web design. She graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in social sciences.

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Assistant Director for Children, Adults and Families

Erinn Kelley-Siel was named interim assistant director for the DHS Children, Adults and Families Division beginning July 2008. For the five and a half years prior to her appointment she served as Governor Ted Kulongoski’s human services advisor, during which time she provided guidance on such issues as reducing Oregon’s hunger rate, strengthening protection for children in Oregon’s child welfare system, transforming Oregon’s public mental health system, making health care more affordable for all Oregonians, and ensuring a sustainable future for long-term care services for Oregon seniors and people with disabilities. Prior to joining the Governor’s staff she served as an associate attorney in the Energy and Telecommunications practice group at the Portland-based law firm Stoel Rives LLP, and as a law clerk to then-Justice Kulongoski at the Oregon Supreme Court. She holds a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a degree in psychology from Texas A&M University.

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Assistant Director for Medical Assistance Programs - State Medicaid Director
 

Jim Edge of Salem was appointed assistant director for the DHS Division of Medical Assistance Programs in November 2007. Prior to that appointment he served as interim assistant director for DMAP for eight months, and from 2003 until 2007 he served as DMAP assistant administrator. He originally joined DHS in 2000 and was responsible for leading efforts to restructure the Oregon Health Plan. Before joining DHS, he worked for the U.S. Public Health Service’s Indian Health Service for more than 20 years, ensuring delivery of health care to Native Americans in a variety of locations across the country. Edge holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Washington and a master’s in public health from the University of Hawaii.

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Assistant Director for Public Health -- State Public Health Officer

Mel Kohn, M.D., M.P.H., of Portland, was named acting DHS assistant director for the State Public Health Division and State Health Officer in September 2008. He previously served as state epidemiologist and administrator of the DHS Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology. He has worked in the public health sector since 1993, including two years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before joining DHS in 1999 Kohn was medical director for a section of the Louisiana Office of Public Health in New Orleans, and also served as an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Kohn received a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies from Yale in 1981, took pre-med courses at Columbia University, received his M.D. from Harvard in 1990, and received his Masters in Public Health from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1997. He is board-certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine.

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Assistant Director for Seniors and People with Disabilities

James Toews (rhymes with waves) of Portland is DHS assistant director for the Seniors and People with Disabilities Division. Toews joined DHS in 1985, where he administered programs for clients with developmental disabilities. He served as director of governmental affairs and executive director of the Association for Retarded Citizens of Oregon and protective-services director for the Logan Center for Retardation Services in South Bend, Indiana. Toews is a graduate of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

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