Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary, on Friday announced the appointment of Cindy Mann as Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO), part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Mann most recently served as a research professor and executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, and has decades of experience as well as health care policy knowledge.

“She has devoted her career to working on behalf of children and families, the elderly and people with disabilities. She will be an outstanding leader at CMSO, particularly as the nation moves forward with health care reform”, said Secretary Sebelius.

Mann played a key role in implementing Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from 1999-2001 when she served as director of the Family and Children’s Health Programs at CMSO.