NEW CASTLE (Sept. 9, 2020) – Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Molly Magarik today announced leadership changes for the organization, splitting the Department’s Deputy Secretary position into two positions, one in charge of policy and social services and the other in charge of operations and special populations. Magarik served as the Department’s Deputy Secretary prior to being sworn in July 31 as Cabinet Secretary, replacing Dr. Kara Odom Walker.
The changes:
Tanisha M. Merced has been named Deputy Secretary of Policy and Social Services for DHSS. Merced will focus on policy, social services, Governor Carney’s Family Services Cabinet Council and management of the Office of the Secretary. She will oversee the Divisions of Social Services, State Service Centers and Child Support Services. Merced comes to DHSS from her position as Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the State of Delaware’s Department of Insurance, where she has been since May 2018. Before joining the Department of Insurance, Merced spent eight years as First Assistant County Attorney for New Castle County. Her public servant experience also includes four years serving as a Deputy Attorney General at the Delaware Department of Justice where she was an Attorney in the Civil Division of the Family Services Unit.
Merced graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 2000 and from Widener University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2003. She lives in Wilmington with her husband and two children. She will begin her duties with DHSS Sept. 16.
Lisa Bond, who has been with DHSS for 26 years and is currently the Director of the Division of Management Services (DMS), has been named Deputy Secretary for Operations and Special Populations. Bond’s focus will be on special populations as well as budget, fiscal, operations and strategic planning. She will oversee the Divisions of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities Services and Visually Impaired. Bond will maintain her responsibilities as the Director of DMS, including serving as the Chief Operating Officer for the Department and managing a $3 billion budget and 3,500 employees. Bond has been Director of DMS since February 2017. Prior to that she served in leadership roles as Director of the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD) and Deputy Director for DSAAPD. She has also spent time in roles within DHSS’s Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) and Division of Social Services (DSS).
Bond started her career as a public servant with DHSS as a social worker in 1994 following her graduation from the University of Delaware. She lives in Middletown with her husband and two children. She will begin her new duties immediately.
Together, Merced and Bond will work with Secretary Magarik to ensure that service delivery and support for DHSS leadership, staff, community partners and clients remain strong during the COVID-19 pandemic, while beginning to advance the goals and initiatives outlined in the DHSS strategic plan.
“In their roles as Deputy Secretary, Tanisha Merced and Lisa Bond will be counted on to help lead our agency during these critical times,” Secretary Magarik said. “During COVID-19, coordinating with our providers on service delivery, along with the services that DHSS provides directly to people in need, are our highest priority. This division of the Deputy Secretary role with a separate and distinct focus for each will help us to better meet the needs of our clients and community partners during the pandemic.
“Additionally, taking this step now in the wake of the work done by the DHSS Reorganization Committee and through our strategic plan will allow us to provide more support for division leadership as we refocus on the 21st-century needs of our staff, our clients and the community as a whole.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that Tanisha will be an incredible Deputy Secretary,” Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro said. “Her strategic mind and passion for consumer-oriented public policy ensured not only success in her role at the Department of Insurance, but also earned her nationwide respect in the industry. While we are sad to see her go, we are so proud that she will have the opportunity to lead in such a vital Cabinet Department, and we know that the depth of knowledge of insurance and health care issues that she has gained while on our team will serve her, and the entire state, well as she takes on this new role.”
Over the coming months, Secretary Magarik and her leadership team will continue to look at ways to reorganize the Department to provide more coordinated and person-centered services for the people of Delaware.
The Department of Health and Social Services, with about 3,500 employees, is responsible for meeting the health and social service needs of Delawareans by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency and protecting vulnerable populations.