EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Tracy S. Gruber was named executive director of the Utah Department of Human Services in January 2021. Previous to her appointment by Governor Spencer J. Cox, she was director of the Office of Child Care at the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) and senior advisor for the Intergenerational Poverty Initiative. In 2017, she was named as "Government Official of the Year" by Community Action Partnership of Utah. She served as the chair of the National Association of State Child Care Administrators and represents Utah on the Education Commission of the States.

Prior to her service with DWS, Gruber was the senior policy analyst and director of state fiscal policy at Voices for Utah Children. Gruber’s work experience also includes serving as an analyst in the Illinois Senate, overseeing a public employee retiree organization, and administering the Utah State Bar New Lawyer Training Program.

Gruber received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Law Degree from the Chicago-Kent School of Law.

Nate Checketts Deputy Director

Nate Checketts has been Utah’s Medicaid Director at the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) since 2016, and helped to design and implement Medicaid expansion in the state. He has previous experience as a deputy director at UDOH and as Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program(CHIP) director. Additionally, Checketts has been the state’s COVID-19 testing coordinator since March of 2020. Prior to UDOH, Checketts  gained experience as a budget analyst in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and a senior auditor for the California State Auditor’s Office. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from BYU.

David Litvack Deputy Director

David Litvack brings policy and programming experience from serving in various levels of government. He was Director of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) in the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office, and both Deputy Chief of Staff and, most recently, Senior Policy Advisor in the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office. Litvack also served in the Utah State House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012. He is a graduate of Westminster College and received a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. 

Nate Winters Assistant Deputy Director

Nate Winters was appointed Assistant Deputy Director to serve during the transition to a consolidated Department of Health and Human Services, concluding July 1, 2022. He was recently Assistant Director for the DHS Division of Juvenile Justice Services with a primary focus in finance, budget, and operations. Previously, Nate held roles as Director of Finance, Compensation, and Benefits for the Department of Human Resource Management, and Budget Director for DHS. He has a history of working with lawmakers and stakeholders to provide meaningful information to support requests for funding and further knowledge of the department. He has also worked with divisions to overhaul the internal budgeting process to incorporate efficiencies and reduce redundancy. Nate graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Utah Valley University.