Principal Deputy Administrator
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Biography
Diana Espinosa is the Principal Deputy Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has served as HRSA’s Deputy Administrator since 2015.
HRSA improves the health and well-being of millions of people across this country. Working in partnership with states and community-based organizations, HRSA’s $14.3 billion annual budget improves health outcomes and works to achieve health equity through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce, and innovative, high-value programs.
As Principal Deputy Ms. Espinosa ensures that HRSA programs are designed and implemented to maximize the impact in communities and populations served. She makes sure that HRSA’s programs are well-coordinated, and that the agency is efficiently managed. During her tenure, she has overseen major cross-cutting initiatives, as HRSA has played key roles in addressing the nation’s public health needs—from the opioid epidemic, to the nation’s health workforce needs, to more recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the unprecedented public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2020 Ms. Espinosa assumed the additional responsibility of leading a HRSA team to stand-up and implement the Provider Relief Fund, a history-making effort to manage the distribution of $178 billion dollars in relief payments to hospitals and other health care professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus response.
Ms. Espinosa joined HRSA in 2007 as the Deputy Associate Administrator for HRSA's Bureau of Health Professions where she managed a portfolio of programs focused on the development, distribution and retention of a diverse, culturally competent health workforce that provides high-quality care for all Americans. In this position, she oversaw the implementation of significant resource investments and programmatic changes enacted in the Recovery Act of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act to build the Nation’s health workforce. She served as Senior Health Advisor to the HRSA Administrator from 2013 to 2015 providing counsel to the Administrator on a wide range of policy, program, and management issues.
Prior to joining HRSA, Ms. Espinosa served as Deputy Assistant Director for Management at the U.S. Office and Management and Budget (OMB) and led government-wide efforts to improve program performance and accountability. During nine years in a variety of roles at OMB, she also served as Chief of OMB’s Health and Human Services Branch where she led the analysis of budget, management, and policy issues relating to HHS.
Ms. Espinosa started her early career in local government where she held several posts in the Miami-Dade County government in Florida, including the Operating Budget Coordinator.
In recognition of her leadership and career accomplishments, Ms. Espinosa received the Presidential Rank Award Distinguished Executive in 2021.
Ms. Espinosa has a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Michigan.