Gov.-elect Tom Corbett said he will nominate Gary D. Alexander, 42, of Greenville, R.I., as Secretary of Public Welfare.
Corbett said Alexander most recently served as the Rhode Island Secretary of Health and Human Services, where he was the governor’s chief adviser on all health care, social services and rehabilitative policies, overseeing more than 3,000 employees and a combined budget of more than $2.5 billion.
During his tenure in Rhode Island, Alexander is credited with crafting and designing the landmark and first in the nation Global Medicaid Waiver which has transformed the Rhode Island Medicaid program into a value-oriented and performance-driven healthcare system focused on the needs of the consumer.
He is also credited with reforming the state’s welfare system to focus on work first, which has resulted in a 30 percent decline in the state’s welfare population over the past two years.
“Gary Alexander has successfully managed a variety of human service programs in Rhode Island, including Medicaid, Welfare, Child Welfare, Child Care, Veterans and much more,” Corbett said. “He has shown to have just the kind of experience we need right now in Pennsylvania and will be great addition to the Corbett/Cawley administration.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare administers an array of supportive services and programs that assist millions of Pennsylvanians, from infants to the elderly, on a daily basis. The department’s programs help provide many of our most vulnerable citizens with the most basic necessities, including food, shelter, health care and other forms of vital assistance.
Alexander received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Northeastern University and his J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law and is an ordained deacon in the Armenian Orthodox Church.
Alexander and his wife have been married for 14 years and they have two children.
