Secretary of Health and Human Resources
John Littel
John Littel is the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He brings 30 years of public policy experience to the Administration, developing private sector solutions for Medicaid, advocating for independent living for seniors and people with disabilities, and leading mental health and substance use disorder programs.
Twenty-six years ago, John was the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Since then, John has held senior roles at Magellan Health, Anthem, and Amerigroup, as well as at both the federal and state government levels. He has taught government, politics and communications at the graduate level, and has also served as a member of the William & Mary Public Policy Board of Advisors. Mr. Littel earned his bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Scranton and J.D. from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
In 2012, John was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary and has served as Rector since 2018. He also serves on the board of The Gloucester Institute, a leadership initiative for young African-Americans based at Robert Russa Moton's historic home. He previously served as the chair of the Virginia Health Care Foundation and on the boards of the Family and Children's Trust Fund, Virginia's family violence prevention agency, and ForKids, a program for homeless families in Hampton Roads.
He and his wife, Marianne, live in Virginia Beach and have three grown children.