Chapin Hall

Uma S. Ahluwalia, MSW, MHA is a Senior Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall. A respected social services and public health services professional with extensive experience leading key growth initiatives in demanding political and legislative environments, Ahluwalia is an expert in delivering innovative, reliable, cost-effective solutions and public policy strategies that improve operations and productivity.  At Chapin Hall, Ahluwalia is working on child- and family-related projects in multiple states and building out a children’s behavioral health portfolio.  Additionally, she is coaching and mentoring mid-career professionals in the field and serving on several boards supporting improved outcomes for children and families in her community.

Prior to coming to Chapin Hall, Ahluwalia worked at Health Management Associates. There she supported public and private sector organizations with consulting solutions related to public health, child welfare, social services, children’s behavioral health and strategic planning. Prior to joining HMA, she had a 22-year public sector career in state and local government. For 12 years she served as director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services in Maryland where she led the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, oversaw the move to a more integrated and interoperable health and human services enterprise, and managed public-private partnerships and programs. Ahluwalia’s work experience also includes executive leadership in Child Welfare as the interim director in the Child and Family Services Agency in Washington, DC, and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services in the State of Washington for the Children’s Administration.

Ahluwalia has a Master’s degree in social work from the University of Delhi in India and a specialist, post-Master’s in health services administration from George Washington University. Over her 35-year career in human services, she has progressively moved from case-carrying social work to executive leadership at the state and local levels. She serves on several national and local boards and has presented at conferences focused on public health, human services and child welfare issues.