"Secretary Leavitt's passion for enabling the use of technology has advanced citizen service, information sharing and good government," said Wisconsin CIO and NASCIO President Matthew Miszewski. "We applaud his dedication to implementing widespread deployment of health information technology in order to provide safer, timelier, more efficient, effective, equitable and less costly, patient-centered health care."
As the 20th secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Leavitt manages the largest civilian department in the federal government, with more than 66,000 employees. Prior to his current service, Leavitt served as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as the three-time governor of Utah. During his 11-year tenure as governor, Leavitt was chosen by his peers to serve as chair of the National Governors Association and Utah was recognized six times as one of America's best-managed states.