Director

Bruce Goldberg M.D., is a family medicine physician who has devoted his professional career to improving the organization, delivery and financing of public health services. He has been Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services since November 2005, a position he says he was drawn to because of the opportunity it provides for making a positive difference in the lives of so many people.

During his time with DHS he has led efforts to improve children's access to health care and reduce hunger and food insecurity among Oregonians, has been instrumental in developing plans for revamping the state's mental health system and constructing two new state psychiatric hospitals, and has promoted education and prevention as the most effective means of protecting and improving the health of Oregonians.

Dr. Goldberg's experience also includes serving as head of the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research, Medical Director for CareOregon, Health Officer for Columbia County in Oregon, and Director of Community Health Services in Zuni, New Mexico. He also was a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University for more than 15 years.

Dr. Goldberg has published widely and has served on numerous regional and national advisory boards and committees. He currently is chairman of the American Public Human Services Association's National Policy Council.

He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 from the Oregon Public Health Association, the OHSU School of Medicine's 2000 Faculty Humanism Award, and in 1994 was named a U.S. Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellow.

Dr. Goldberg is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and completed his family medicine training at Duke University.

He and his wife, also a physician, are the proud parents of two daughters, one in college and one in high school. In his spare time he plays the harmonica in a rhythm and blues band and roots for the New York Yankees.

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Deputy Director for Operations

Clyde Saiki (rhymes with Nike) of Salem has been DHS deputy director for Operations since 2005. Prior to that he served for two years as the department's chief administrative officer. Saiki, who began his career at DHS in 1986 as volunteer services supervisor, also has managed agency contracts, facilities and personnel offices. Saiki is a 1980 health-education graduate of Oregon State University.

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Deputy Director for Finance

Jim Scherzinger of Portland was appointed DHS deputy director for Finance in 2007. Prior to joining DHS Scherzinger served for three years as superintendent of Portland Public Schools and before that as chief financial officer for PPS. From 1984 until 1998 he directed the Oregon Legislative Revenue Office, and for the six years preceding that he served as the economist for the Oregon Legislature. He was a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in economics at the University of Oregon, and holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Santa Clara.

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Assistant Director for Addictions and Mental Health

Bob Nikkel of Salem is DHS assistant director for the Addictions and Mental Health Division. Nikkel joined DHS in 1990 as acute care and dual diagnosis specialist with responsibility for patients diagnosed with both mental illness and alcoholism or drug addiction. His current responsibility includes state hospitals in Salem, Portland and Pendleton; the staff who work with county governments to deliver statewide mental-health services; and the staff who manage statewide alcoholism and drug- and gambling-addiction services. Nikkel holds a master's degree in social work (1978) from the University of Kansas at Lawrence and a bachelor's degree (1969) from Fresno Pacific University.

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Assistant Director for Administrative Services - Chief Administrative Officer

Sue Nelson was appointed chief administrative officer in March 2008. She started at DHS in 1998 as a human resources manager, and subsequently was promoted to the positions of assistant district manager for self-sufficiency programs in the Marion, Polk and Yamhill service area; health services deputy; human resources director; and deputy chief administrative officer. During the final four months of 2007 she served as interim director of the Oregon State Board of Nursing. Prior to joining DHS she held several positions within the child support program at the Oregon Department of Justice. At DHS she is responsible for more than 900 employees working in contracts, facilities, document management, human resources, information security, information services, payment accuracy and recovery, and communications, publications and Web design. She graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in social sciences.

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Assistant Director for Children, Adults and Families

Erinn Kelley-Siel was named interim assistant director for the DHS Children, Adults and Families Division beginning July 2008. For the five and a half years prior to her appointment she served as Governor Ted Kulongoski’s human services advisor, during which time she provided guidance on such issues as reducing Oregon’s hunger rate, strengthening protection for children in Oregon’s child welfare system, transforming Oregon’s public mental health system, making health care more affordable for all Oregonians, and ensuring a sustainable future for long-term care services for Oregon seniors and people with disabilities. Prior to joining the Governor’s staff she served as an associate attorney in the Energy and Telecommunications practice group at the Portland-based law firm Stoel Rives LLP, and as a law clerk to then-Justice Kulongoski at the Oregon Supreme Court. She holds a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a degree in psychology from Texas A&M University.

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Assistant Director for Medical Assistance Programs - State Medicaid Director
 

Jim Edge of Salem was appointed assistant director for the DHS Division of Medical Assistance Programs in November 2007. Prior to that appointment he served as interim assistant director for DMAP for eight months, and from 2003 until 2007 he served as DMAP assistant administrator. He originally joined DHS in 2000 and was responsible for leading efforts to restructure the Oregon Health Plan. Before joining DHS, he worked for the U.S. Public Health Service’s Indian Health Service for more than 20 years, ensuring delivery of health care to Native Americans in a variety of locations across the country. Edge holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Washington and a master’s in public health from the University of Hawaii.

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Assistant Director for Public Health -- State Public Health Officer

Michael Skeels, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Portland, was named interim DHS assistant director for the Public Health Division in February 2008. He joined the Public Health Division in 1983 to direct the Oregon Public Health Laboratory, a position he held until 1990. From 1990 until 1994 he served as the state’s public health director, before voluntarily stepping down to return to overseeing the lab. He has worked in public health since 1977, and prior to moving to Oregon led the state public health labs in Montana and New Mexico. He is a clinical professor at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. He holds a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Montana and a Master of Public Health from the University of Washington. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Wichita State University.

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Assistant Director for Seniors and People with Disabilities

James Toews (rhymes with waves) of Portland is DHS assistant director for the Seniors and People with Disabilities Division. Toews joined DHS in 1985, where he administered programs for clients with developmental disabilities. He served as director of governmental affairs and executive director of the Association for Retarded Citizens of Oregon and protective-services director for the Logan Center for Retardation Services in South Bend, Indiana. Toews is a graduate of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

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