Kacey Wulff, senior adviser for COVID-19 response, resilience and recovery for Gov. Jared Polis, has left the Polis administration and returned to the federal Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services. Her new job, as chief of staff to the assistant secretary, began on January 21. 

“Kacey has answered the call of duty and has been instrumental in the state’s response to the unique challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Polis said Monday. “We will miss her passion and problem-solving skills and wish Kacey well as she embarks on this new challenge. Kacey’s recruitment to the Biden administration is a reflection of Colorado’s successes in responding to the COVID pandemic. Our state and country will be better served with Kacey’s continued involvement in the response to the pandemic at the federal level.”

Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in the statement that “Kacey can navigate stakeholding, serve as a public health expert, and develop policy. She’s an ‘all of the above’ type of public servant. She does it all with grace and while advocating for Coloradans and their wellbeing. Colorado’s loss is our nation’s gain.”

Wulff joined the Polis administration in 2019 as a senior policy  adviser in the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care. She previously was the director of the California-based Children’s Movement, a statewide network of “pro-kid” business, education, parent, civil rights, faith, community and non-profit organizations  focused on making children a top public policy priority. She spent three years in the Obama administration, as a policy  adviser and special assistant to the assistant secretary of preparedness and response, and before that, two years as a fellow in bioethics at the National Institutes of Health.

“I am grateful to Governor Polis, Director Ryan, and many others for placing their trust in me to help shepherd Colorado’s response to this once in a century pandemic and thankful to everyone who has poured their hearts into this coordinated effort,” Wulff said as she departed for the new position. “I am excited about this new endeavor and will bring the lessons forged by Colorado to help our country build back stronger than before the pandemic.”

The assistant secretary for preparedness and response is tasked with protecting Americans from 21st-century health security threats, according to the statement. The office leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies, and collaborates with hospitals; healthcare coalitions; biotech firms; community members; state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and other partners across the country to improve readiness and response capabilities.