Leadership

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Leadership

House Bill 2006, passed during the 2023 Legislative Session, reorganizes the current West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources into three separate departments, each overseen by its own cabinet-level secretary, effective January 1, 2024. On May 24, 2023, Gov. Jim Justice appointed three cabinet secretaries: Sherri A. Young, D.O., MBA, FAAFP - Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health; Cynthia Persily, Ph.D. - Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services; and Michael Caruso - Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities. All three new secretaries will begin working with their respective departments in the coming months in preparation for the January 1, 2024, official transition. The three cabinet secretaries will develop a memorandum of understanding to establish the Office of Shared Administration, which will provide shared services from centralized units such as finance, human resources management, management information services, and constituent services.

Sherri A. Young, D.O., MBA, FAAFP

Interim Cabinet Secretary

304-558-0684 | DHHRSecretary@wv.gov

Dr. Sherri Young is currently serving as the Interim Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and was appointed Incoming Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health by Governor Jim Justice on May 24, 2023. She previously served as the Associate Chief Medical Officer to the Vandalia Health Network and Executive Director and Health Officer of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. The health command team worked through the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD), in collaboration with the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority (KCEAA), Kanawha County Commission, West Virginia National Guard, City of Charleston, Charleston Fire Department and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department.

In 2019 – 2020, Dr. Young served as President of the West Virginia State Medical Association, the State’s largest medical society. She is also the Past President of the West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians and the Kanawha Medical Association. Currently, she serves as a Board member for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) Foundation, the YWCA of the Kanawha Valley, the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority (KCEAA), West Virginia Health Right and the Regional Board for the American Cancer Society, for WV, Ohio, and Kentucky.

She is the proud mother to her 15 year-old daughter Gabi. Dr. Young has authored many peer-reviewed and opinion articles on issues of note to public health and medicine. She has extensive experience with hundreds of professional education presentations, providing CME for her peers at the local, state, national, and international levels. She has had numerous articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals and publications and served as an Associate Editor for the West Virginia Medical Journal for nearly 10 years.

Dr. Young received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2003. She then completed her Residency in Family Medicine at Charleston Area Medical Center. Dr. Young graduated Summa Cum Laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology. In 2022, Dr. Young completed her Master of Business Administration (MBA), from Brandeis University, in Boston, Massachusetts.