DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk Will Retire Next Week

Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will retire next week.

Gov. Tony Evers shared the news on Friday.

“Julie’s been an essential part of our state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it is not an overstatement to say her work and leadership have saved lives,” Evers said in a news release.

Willems Van Dijk has been the face of the department’s pandemic response since former Secretary Andrea Palm left her position earlier this year to join the Biden administration.

Willems Van Dijk, who worked as a nurse and public health official for almost four decades, appeared regularly at the department’s media briefings this year. She’s been cited frequently on WPR, especially on the topic of vaccination.

“It has been an incredible honor to serve in the role of deputy secretary. I am especially proud of the way our staff across DHS and all of state government came together to protect the people of Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Willems Van Dijk said in the release.

Her last day will be Sept. 10. She’ll be replaced by Deb Standridge, who will start the following week.

Earlier in the pandemic, Standridge served as executive director of the temporary care site at State Fair Park in Milwaukee. Previously, she worked as a regional president with Ascension Wisconsin.

“I know we have both challenges and opportunities ahead of us, and I am ready to get to work serving the people of Wisconsin in this new role,” Standridge said in the release.

This week, DHS urged Wisconsinites to wear masks and use caution this Labor Day weekend, with the state experiencing “very high” COVID-19 activity levels.