Secretary Karen Timberlake

Karen Timberlake was appointed by Governor Jim Doyle as Secretary of the Department of Health Services in April 2008. Karen has been with the Department since March 2007, serving first as Executive Assistant and then as Deputy Secretary.

As secretary, Karen is responsible for strategic direction for the state's health and human services agency. The Department's goals include ensuring the health, safety, and well being of Wisconsin citizens while emphasizing prevention, making Wisconsin a national leader in reforming health care, and sustaining a high-performing organization that is customer-focused, seeks the engagement of key stakeholders, and recognizes and rewards the excellent, innovative work of its employees.

Prior to joining DHS, Karen served in Governor Doyle's cabinet as the Director of the Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) from 2003 to 2007, where she was responsible for setting human resources policy for Wisconsin state government's civil service employees. Prior to her OSER appointment, Karen was an assistant attorney general from 1995 - 2000 with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, where she specialized in employment litigation and was the deputy administrator of the Division of Legal Services.

Last Revised: February 03, 2010