Newsom Appoints Arnold, Gallardo to DHCS, HCAI Posts

This week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced appointments to two notable posts within the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). These include:

Tracy Arnold has been appointed Assistant Director at the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Arnold has served as Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of Governor Newsom since 2020 and was Director of Research there in 2019. She was Executive Director at Empower Civic Engagement from 2018 to 2019. Arnold was a Partner at Mercury Public Affairs from 2009 to 2019. She was Director of Jobs and Economic Growth in the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2006 to 2009.

Elia Gallardo has been appointed Deputy Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs at the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). Gallardo has been Director of Government Affairs at the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA) since 2019. She was previously Director of Policy Research at Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP) from 2017 to 2019, Executive Director of Government Relations and Program Oversight at the Alameda Alliance for Health from 2011 to 2017, and Director of Government Affairs at California Primary Care Association from 1998 to 2011. She is a member of the California Bar Association after earning her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.