Executive Team Bios
Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson
Kirsten Johnson has over 20 years of experience as a public health leader in complex local, state, national, and international organizations. She joins the administration after previously serving as the health commissioner for the city of Milwaukee following her appointment in January 2021. Prior to serving the city of Milwaukee, Kirsten led the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department for more than a decade as the director and health officer, overseeing the merger of the two counties’ health departments and later leading a multi-county pandemic response as well as various other public health and health equity initiatives. Kirsten has her master’s degree in public health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and holds certifications as a public health professional and certified education specialist.
Deputy Secretary Deb Standridge
Deb Standridge has spent her career working in, improving, and leading health care systems, most recently serving as Regional President of the North Region of Ascension Wisconsin and Chief Executive Officer of Wisconsin’s Alternate Care Facility. Her professional focus has been on the strategic direction and operational management of hospitals in a diversity of communities, including her work at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s North Market. She is an award-winning advocate for health care systems and served on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
Assistant Deputy Secretary Sam Austin
Sam Austin has 17 years of experience in various state health policy roles in Wisconsin. He has previously held roles as DHS policy director and the Evidence-Based Health Policy Project director at the University of Wisconsin (UW) Population Health Institute. Sam started his career as a fiscal analyst for the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Sam also teaches in an adjunct professor role at the UW-Madison’s Master of Public Health Program. He has a Master of International Public Affairs degree from the UW La Follette School of Public Affairs.