Susan Gerard has been a leader in health care policy and systems in Arizona for more than two decades. She served as Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services from April 2005 to July 2008. She oversaw one of the largest departments in Arizona State Government, with a budget of more than $1 billion. Gerard previously served as a member of Governor Janet Napolitano's administration as a policy adviser for health care issues, assisting with crucial decisions involving state and federal budgets of nearly $8.1 billion directly linked to services for more than 1.2 million residents. As a member of the Arizona Legislature, Gerard served as Chair of the House and Senate Health Committees for 10 years. She championed most of the major healthcare legislation in Arizona in the last two decades. As a lawmaker, she also led efforts to fund and create intervention and prevention programs such as Healthy Families, Healthy Start and Head Start. "Much of the progress we've made in health care is a direct result of legislation Susan introduced and improvements she made at DHS," said Janet Napolitano, U.S. Director of Homeland Security and former Arizona Governor.Today, Gerardhelps oversee Arizona's only public safety-net hospital as vice chair of the Maricopa Integrated Health System Governing Board. Gerard received a B,A. degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and a M.B.A. from Arizona State University.