About CHRT

Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), was a member of the inaugural class of CHRT Health Policy Fellows.

Prior to her role as director, Hertel was senior chief deputy director for administration where she oversaw external relations and communications, finance and administration, legislative services, legal affairs, policy and planning, strategic integration, organizational services, workforce engagement and community and faith engagement.

Hertel joined the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) in 2013 as the senior assistant for policy and planning, and in February 2014, was appointed director of policy and planning. Following the merger of the Departments of Community Health and Human Services into MDHHS in 2015, Hertel served as senior deputy director for policy, planning and legislative services. In October 2016, she left that position to serve as director of Michigan Advocacy for Trinity Health and returned to MDHHS and her current position in February 2019.

Prior to joining MDCH, Hertel worked as a senior advisor for health policy in the state House Republican Policy Office and as a legislative assistant to state Rep. Bruce Caswell. She began her tenure in the House in 2005. In 2010, she worked as a consultant with Public Sector Consultants and then as a policy analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield. She returned to the House in 2011.