Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health
Acting Director, Office on Women's Health
Deborah (Deb) Kilday, MSN, RN, is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health and Director of the Office on Women's Health (OWH) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she provides strategic leadership at the intersection of women's health, federal policy, and scientific research advancing national priorities that promote the health, safety, and well-being of women and girls across the lifespan.
With more than 35 years of experience spanning clinical care, executive leadership, research, and federal policy, Ms. Kilday has guided major initiatives that integrate evidence-based practice with large'scale health system transformation. She previously led national quality improvement and analytics programs across 1,400 private-sector hospitals and directed complex federal extramural research portfolios, ensuring scientific rigor and translating findings into actionable policy and practice.
Over the last decade, Ms. Kilday has spearheaded state and national collaboratives focused on women's health, using implementation science to test, standardize, and scale evidence-based care strategies. Her work has reached thousands of clinicians and health systems, improving safety and cost-effectiveness in maternal, reproductive, and population health.
A nationally recognized expert in maternal-child health, Ms. Kilday has launched major cross-sector campaigns uniting U.S. health systems, clinicians, researchers, and community organizations to transform the quality of care for women and infants. She partners with industry leaders and scientific experts to advance population-focused analytics, strengthen data-driven policy, and support the research agenda for women's health.
Ms. Kilday is a peer-reviewed author published in The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, JAMA Network Open, and PLOS ONE. She holds degrees in nursing, leadership, and organizational management from the Newport Hospital School of Nursing and Brenau University.