Marylou Sudders is an American government official, who has been serving as

Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts The Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts is the head of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and serves as an advisor to the Governor of Massachusetts. Its current Secretary is Marylou Sudders, wh ...

since January 8, 2015.

Career

On November 21, 2014, it was announced that Sudders would be appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services of Massachusetts, when

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

took office as Governor. succeeding John Polanowicz. She previously served as Massachusetts Commissioner of Mental Health, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and New Hampshire's Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services. On September 21, 2021 Sudders was added as a defendant to a lawsuit relating to the deaths of 83 people at the Holyoke Soldiers Home that died from incompetence at the facility that Sudders oversaw. The lawsuit stated that Sudders and her subordinates "turned a blind eye to what was happening at the home and acting with deliberate indifference to the risk posed by the pandemic, which led to the deaths of dozens of veterans." On Friday, May 13, 2022 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts settled the case for fifty-six million dollars. The United States Department of Justice had announced on April 10, 2020 they were also opening an investigation into the failures at the home. Sudders holds a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

with honors and a

master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in social work from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, and

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Boston University School of Social Work alumni Massachusetts Secretaries of Health and Human Services American women chief executives American nonprofit chief executives {{Massachusetts-gov-stub