DES MOINES— Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has announced that Kelly Garcia, Director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has resigned and will leave the agency next month after nearly six years of service. Governor Reynolds has appointed Larry Johnson, currently Director of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL), to succeed Garcia at HHS.

Garcia joined the state in November 2019 after the governor appointed her to lead what was then the Iowa Department of Human Services. The following June, she was additionally appointed interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health before assuming leadership of both agencies and, eventually, aligning them into one at the governor’s direction.

The Governor’s office says under Garcia’s leadership, the agency was instrumental in managing Iowa’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, aligning agency operations to improve service to Iowans, and redesigning the state’s behavioral health system. Through her commitment to alignment and innovation, Garcia created foundational capacity within the agency and instilled a focus on measurable performance, leaving a blueprint for the next leader’s success. Emphasizing transparency and communication, Garcia built trust by openly engaging with Iowans to inform systems improvements.

Directors Garcia and Johnson will immediately begin a weeks-long transition plan, which will include engaging with HHS division leaders, staff, and key stakeholders across the state. Director Johnson, officials say, was critical to the successful alignment of DIAL. Under his leadership, 16 professional licensing boards, previously located across state agencies, were centralized into DIAL. Staff were cross trained to resolve a years-long backlog of cases across several boards and establish new workflows to better manage ongoing case volume. As a result, between October 2024 and August 2025, the team reduced a backlog of 503 pending investigations to 37. Similar results were achieved in the agency’s administrative hearings division and other areas.

Johnson’s 14-year career in state government also includes serving as State Public Defender, and Legal Counsel to Governor Terry Branstad and then Lt. Governor Reynolds. He practiced law in the private sector before joining the state. Johnson’s tenure as Director of HHS will begin in mid-October. Aaron Baack, Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer at DIAL, will serve as the agency’s interim director.