Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, has resigned and will leave the agency next month after nearly six years of service, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today. Reynolds has appointed Larry Johnson, currently director of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, also known as DIAL, to succeed Garcia at HHS. Garcia was appointed to lead what was then the Iowa Department of Human Services in November 2019. In June 2020, she was appointed to also serve as interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health before merging the two agencies at Reynolds’ direction. Reynolds said in the press release that Garcia’s leadership at HHS “has delivered meaningful results for Iowans across our state.” “From expanding child care opportunities to enhancing health care access in rural communities, her contributions will make a difference for years to come. I am forever grateful for Kelly’s service to the state, and I wish her and her family much success and happiness,” she said. Garcia and Johnson will immediately begin a weeks-long transition plan, and Johnson’s tenure as director of HHS will begin in mid-October, the news release said. Aaron Baack, deputy director and chief operations officer at DIAL, will serve as the agency’s interim director. Under Johnson’s leadership, 16 professional licensing boards, previously located across state agencies, were centralized into DIAL. Johnson’s 14-year career in state government also includes serving as state public defender and legal counsel to Gov. Terry Branstad and then-Lt. Governor Reynolds. He practiced law in the private sector before joining the state. A spokesperson at Reynolds’ office did not immediately return a request for Johnson’s salary.