Kody H. Kinsley serves as the Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at DHHS. He leads state-wide public policy and operations that promote whole-person health by developing prevention methods, interventions, and systems of care for individuals living with mental illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and substance use disorders.
To that end, he oversees the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services, which develops policy and funds community-based services and supports. He also oversees the Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities which operates the 14 facilities that comprise the state’s publicly funded health system.
Finally, in driving the Department’s commitment to community-based services and care, he oversees the Senior Advisor for ADA. In total, the Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health and IDD’s organization comprises over 11,000 employees and an annual budget of about $2 billion.
Kinsley returned home to North Carolina after serving as the presidentially appointed Assistant Secretary for Management for the United States Department of the Treasury. In that role, he functioned as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer with a broad scope of responsibility for the agency, its $15.5 billion discretionary budget, and 100,000 employees.
His experience spans the public and private sectors, including positions at the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and leading operations for a behavioral health care service provider in western North Carolina. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brevard College in Brevard, NC and his Master of Public Policy from the University of California, at Berkeley.