Gov.-Elect Carney makes health, childrens cabinet picks and retains housing chief

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[Not a valid template]Dr. Kara Odom Walker will be nominated to serve as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, the state’s public health agency that is charged with keeping Delawareans healthy and providing Delaware families with essential social services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment. 

Walker is currently the Deputy Chief Science Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization in Washington that is authorized by Congress to improve evidence available to help patients, caregivers, employers, insurers and policymakers make informed healthcare decisions. She has managed the Institute’s research investments, which total $1.6 billion to date toward a planned total of $2.5 billion as of 2019. 

A Caravel Academy high school graduate,  Walker earned her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and graduated from the University of Delaware’s chemical engineering program. She has taught Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and advocated for health equity and for access to healthcare among minority and underserved populations.

“Kara has deep knowledge about how our healthcare system works, and knows how important that access to quality, affordable healthcare is for all Delawareans,” said Carney. “She will help us reduce the cost of health care, increase access for Delaware families to quality care, and improve treatment options for mental health and substance abuse. She will be an important member of the team, and I’m thrilled to have her on board.”

Josette DelleDonne Manning will be nominated to serve as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, an agency tasked with coordinating services for children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

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Manning has been a prosecutor for the Delaware Department of Justice for 16 years, conducting more than 75 trials during that time, prosecuting crimes from misdemeanors to capital murder. She currently serves as director of the Special Victims Unit, overseeing prosecution of all child abuse, child death and sex crime cases statewide.

Previously, as Chief New Castle County Prosecutor, she created the Department of Justice’s first Homicide Unit dedicated solely to the prosecution of homicides. 

“Josette has defended Delaware’s children as a prosecutor, and I’m confident she has the leadership skills and experience necessary to make the right decisions on behalf of children in Delaware who have experienced abuse, abandonment and neglect,” said Governor-elect Carney. “She will take the lead on coordinating services for children and families who are most at risk, ensure that appropriate treatment options exist, and help us prevent abuse of Delaware’s children in the first place.”

Anas Ben Addi will be nominated to continue serving as Director of the Delaware State Housing Authority, a housing finance and community development agency.

Ben Addi was first nominated by Governor Jack Markell and confirmed by the Delaware Senate in 2009 to lead DSHA. During his time as Director, Ben Addi has helped launch and implement the State Rental Assistance Program, which helps Delawareans who require support services live safely and independently in their communities.

He also has expanded access to DSHA’s low-cost mortgage programs and led efforts to drive private investment in Delaware’s downtown areas through the Downtown Development Districts program.

No announcement has been made on the leader of the Delaware Economic Development Office.  Carney has suggested that changes could be coming to that agency, one of the smallest in state government, but one that is in the spotlight as the state works to add jobs in blue collar and other areas. 

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