The Utah Department of Human Services (DHS) Executive Director Tracy Gruber announced the appointment of two new Deputy Directors, Nate Checketts and David Litvack. They will both assume their new roles April 5. These appointments come during a broader period of transition for the department, with a new executive director appointed in January by Governor Spencer Cox, and passage of House Bill 365 directing the consolidation of the Department of Human Services and the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) by July of 2022.
“The daily need for our services will continue through the pandemic and consolidation without disruption,” stated DHS Executive Director Tracy Gruber. “Nate and David bring invaluable partnerships and knowledge as we work to deliver on the current needs of Utah’s children, families and adults, while also envisioning improvements for those who will be served by a new Department of Health and Human Services.”
Nate Checketts has been Utah’s Medicaid Director at the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) since 2016, and helped to design and implement Medicaid expansion in the state. He has previous experience as a deputy director at UDOH and as Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program(CHIP) director. Additionally, Checketts has been the state’s COVID-19 testing coordinator since March of 2020. Prior to UDOH, Checketts gained experience as a budget analyst in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and a senior auditor for the California State Auditor’s Office. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from BYU.
David Litvack brings policy and programming experience from serving in various levels of government. He was Director of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) in the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office, and both Deputy Chief of Staff and, most recently, Senior Policy Advisor in the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office. Litvack also served in the Utah State House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012. He is a graduate of Westminster College and received a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.
Checketts and Litvack are replacing DHS Deputy Directors Mark Brasher and Lana Stohl, who served in the positions since 2013. Both have accepted new roles at the department. Brasher will assume a full-time role as Special Advisor to the Executive Director on the Health and Human Services Consolidation. He will also continue to manage the pandemic response at DHS. Stohl will continue to build upon her legacy foundation as the Project Director of System of Care, growing this program, Stabilization and Mobile Response, and High-Fidelity Wraparound services across the state.
“I am grateful that both of these individuals will continue to serve in the greatest needed areas and respect the tremendous contribution they have both made as Deputy Directors,” said Gruber.
