Cheryl Strange, Acting Secretary
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Cheryl Strange was appointed Acting Secretary of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services by Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson, effective Jan. 16, 2025. At the time of her appointment, she was Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections, a position she held since May 15, 2021. She was previously appointed Secretary of DSHS, the state’s largest human services agency, by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2017. She is a respected, proven leader who cultivates humane, progressive and equitable institutional cultures.
Strange has dedicated her life to public service, with more than 40 years’ experience in government, nonprofit and labor organizations, holding leadership positions in those organizations for more than half of that time. She served as DOC deputy secretary from 2008 to 2011 and as vice president for Pioneer Human Services, where she worked on the important issues of reentry, work release and behavioral health. Prior to her role as DSHS secretary, she served as CEO of Western State Hospital and director of Health Benefits Trust for SEIU 775. Strange was also assistant director for the DSHS Mental Health Division, where she managed Washington state’s public mental health system, including three state-operated psychiatric hospitals and community outpatient mental health services.
Strange earned her bachelor’s degree from The Evergreen State College and her Master of Public Administration from Seattle University. She completed the executive management program certification at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance as well as a certificate in health care policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.