Emily Zalkovsky, Texas

Emily Zalkovsky serves as Chief Medicaid and CHIP Services Officer and as the State Medicaid Director for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She provides strategic direction and oversight for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), serving over 4 million Texans. Zalkovsky has 20 years of experience in health and human services policy and operations. She previously served as Deputy State Medicaid Director, where she worked closely with leadership to drive strategic initiatives, represent the division with stakeholders, and build the division’s workforce and culture. In addition, Zalkovsky served in a variety of staff and leadership roles at HHSC, including as a policy analyst for women’s health programs, the Director for Program Management for Medicaid managed care, and the Deputy Associate Commissioner for Policy and Program. In these leadership positions, she supervised development and ongoing administration of Medicaid programs and quality initiatives for children, pregnant women, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. Outside of state government, Zalkovsky worked as a health care consultant and in the nonprofit sector, focusing on housing and health policy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and English and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.