Published on Nov 5, 2022
ARNE W. OWENS
Arne Owens is the Director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP), the agency responsible for the licensure and regulation of the Commonwealth's 500,000 healthcare practitioners across 13 regulatory boards, as well as the operation of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), the Health Practitioner’s Monitoring Program, and the Healthcare Workforce Data Center. He was appointed to this position by Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2022.
Mr. Owens previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and, prior to that, as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at HHS. He has also served on the staff of the U.S. Senate as health care policy advisor for former Sen. Bob Corker (Tennessee), global health policy advisor for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and health care policy advisor for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and its chairman, former Sen. David Vitter (Louisiana).
This is Mr. Owens second tour with DHP, having served as Chief Deputy Director of the agency during the Administration of former Governor Bob McDonnell. He also served prior to that in HHS during the Bush Administration as Senior Advisor to the Administrator, SAMHSA, and as Director of Public Affairs in the Administration for Children and Families. He also served earlier in Virginia state government in the Administration of Gov. James Gilmore as Deputy Commissioner, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.
Until 1997, Mr. Owens was a career Army officer, retiring as a lieutenant colonel after serving in a variety of executive and staff assignments throughout the world, including Korea and the Persian Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm. He completed his military service with the Office of the Secretary of Defense at The Pentagon.
Mr. Owens is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, and holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Southern California.
Read the full press release here.