Kathy J. Greenlee was appointed by U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

as the fourth

Assistant Secretary for Aging The Administration on Aging (AoA) is an agency within the Administration for Community Living of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. AoA works to ensure that older Americans can stay independent in their communities, mostly ...

at the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

and confirmed by the Senate in June 2009.

Biography

As Assistant Secretary for Aging, Greenlee oversaw a budget of $1.9 billion, $819 million of which funds senior nutrition programs like

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

. The agency also funds $539 million in grants to programs to help seniors stay in their homes through services (such as accomplishing essential activities of daily living, like getting to the doctor's office, buying groceries etc.) and through help given to caregivers. Greenlee served as Secretary of Aging for the state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

from January 2006 to June 2009. In that capacity, she led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million. Her department oversaw the state's Older Americans Act programs, the distribution of

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

long-term care payments and regulation of nursing home licensure and survey processes. Greenlee has served on the board of the National Association of State Units on Aging since 2008. From 2004-2006, Greenlee served as State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Kansas, and prior to that, was the state's Assistant Secretary of Aging. From 1999-2002, Greenlee served as general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department. During her tenure there, she led the team of regulators who evaluated the proposed sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, and oversaw the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas program. Greenlee also served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations for then Governor

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

. She is a graduate of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

with degrees in business administration and law. An

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, she has been co-chair of

Equality Kansas The Equality Kansas, formerly Kansas Equality Coalition, is a statewide LGBT rights organization whose mission is to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The coalition seeks to ensure the dignity, saf ...

.Michael Adams, ' 'Getting into Neutral' on Aging Policy,' ''

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide ''The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide'' (formerly ''The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review'') is a bimonthly, nationally distributed magazine of history, culture, and politics for LGBT people and their allies who are interested in the gamut of social, ...

'', March–April 2010, p.28

References

External links

Assistant Secretary for Aging
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenle, Kathy Living people State cabinet secretaries of Kansas United States Department of Health and Human Services officials Obama administration personnel American lesbian politicians Kansas Democrats 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Year of birth missing (living people) United States Assistant Secretaries for Aging