Ex-Officio Board Member
Adelita S. Orefice
Deputy Secretary for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services
for the State of Rhode Island
Adelita S. Orefice, Deputy Secretary for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services for the State of Rhode Island was appointed in January 2008 by Governor Donald L. Carcieri. Ms. Orefice is responsible for the oversight and management of five cabinet level departments: Human Services; Health; Children, Youth and Families; Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals; and Elderly Affairs.Elderly Affairs.
Ms. Orefice began her public service career sixteen years ago as a Presidential Management Intern with the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. During her tenure with the Department of Labor, Ms. Orefice served in a variety of positions, including Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Budget. In 1999, Ms. Orefice became the Finance Director for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education where she managed federal and state funds totaling nearly $1 billion. Prior to her appointment to the Secretariat, Ms. Orefice served the state in two other cabinet posts, first as the Director of the Department of Elderly Affairs and most recently as the Director of the Department of Labor and Training.
Ms. Orefice holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs where she focused her studies on social policy and public financial management. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University where she studied government. Ms. Orefice is married and has a twelve-year-old son.
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