HHS Region 10 Director's Biography

James Whitfield was appointed as Secretary Leavitt’s Regional Director for Region 10 in July 2005. Whitfield is the Secretary’s top representative in the region, responsible for guidance and coordination of HHS policies in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Prior to his appointment, Whitfield served as the senior officer for community relations for the Washington Health Foundation in Seattle, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of Washington communities. During his tenure at the foundation, he was responsible for developing and implementing a statewide campaign to make Washington the healthiest state in the nation. He served as a licensed life and health insurance analyst and agent with a Seattle financial services firm and is intimately familiar with the health insurance system in Washington State. He has also managed his own small business and served as a technology consultant. As President of CityClub, a Seattle non-profit organization with some 600 members, he leads the effort to foster civic engagement and non-partisan civil discourse on issues of concern to Puget Sound.

A graduate of the University of Iowa, Director Whitfield was born in Arkansas and moved to Washington State from the Chicago area in 1997.

Whitfield looks forward to focusing on HHS Secretary Leavitt’s initiatives, including implementation of the new Medicare prescription drug coverage and emerging health information technology issues, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native health and human service issues and health disparities.

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