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Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health
Leadership and Contracting Organization

Current as of August 25, 2026 • Director: Alicia Jackson (sworn in Oct 20, 2025) • Sources: arpa-h.gov/about/people · HHS HCA roster
← ARPA-H profile
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An agency mid-rebuild. Inaugural Director Renee Wegrzyn was removed in February 2025; Alicia Jackson was sworn in October 20, 2025 and is rebuilding the executive layer. As of today the Deputy Director role is not held outright (the CMO is "assuming some duties"), two of four mission offices run on Acting directors, the Resilient Systems Office lists no leadership and no program managers at all despite an open solicitation, and the Business Innovation Division Director billet, which carries Head of Contracting authority, has been in recruitment since April 2026. Benjamin Bryant remains the working Acting HCA.
Office of the Director
Director
Alicia Jackson
Director, ARPA-H
Presidential appointment · sworn in Oct 20, 2025
Deputy (Partial)
Rafid Fadul
Chief Medical Officer · assuming some duties of ARPA-H Deputy Director
The Deputy Director position is not filled outright
Acting
Chief of Staff
Maxwell Watkins
Chief of Staff
Counsel
Dan Barry
General Counsel
Admin & Management
Keith Martin
Director, Administration and Management · Executive Officer
The Four Mission Offices (27 program managers across three of them)
Health Science Futures
Tyler Best
Acting Director, Health Science Futures (HSF)
12 program managers
Acting
Proactive Health
Glen Coppersmith
Director, Proactive Health
Deputy: Al Bugazia · 7 program managers
Scalable Solutions
Natalie Kates
Acting Director, Scalable Solutions
8 program managers
Acting
Resilient Systems
No leadership listed
Resilient Systems Office (RSO)
No director and no program managers on the People page, yet RSO's Mission Office ISO (ARPA-H-SOL-24-103) remains open
Unlisted
Business, Commercialization, and IT
Commercialization
Neil Wyant
Director, Office of Commercialization
IT & Data
Nikolaos Ipiotis
CIO, Office of Information Technology and Data Innovation
CISO: Christopher Pashley
Comptroller
Carmelita Chadwick-Gallo
Director, Comptroller Division
Acting Deputy: Etaf Khan
Government Relations
Jen Cama
Director, Division of Government Relations and Strategy
The Contracting Chain (Business Innovation Division)
BID Director · HCA Billet
VACANT · Recruiting
Director, Business Innovation Division
Per the April 2026 vacancy announcement, this billet is ARPA-H's highest acquisition authority and holds Head of Contracting authority, including bid-protest and claims decisions
Open Role
Acting HCA
Benjamin Bryant
Deputy Director, Business Innovation Division · Head of Contracting Activity (Acting)
Confirmed current on the HHS HCA roster (reviewed Apr 27, 2026; fetched Aug 25, 2026) · benjamin.bryant@arpa-h.gov · the working POC for OT / CSO / SBIR acquisition questions
Acting
Why the BID vacancy matters for capture: ARPA-H buys through other transactions, its own solicitations, and prototype-style instruments where the contracting officer's judgment is the process. Until the BID Director billet fills, Bryant is both the deputy running the shop and the Acting HCA signing for it. Watch the hire: a new BID Director resets acquisition risk tolerance across every open ISO.
Sources. ARPA-H People page (verified 2026-08-25, arpa-h.gov/about/people). Jackson bio (arpa-h.gov). HHS HCA and Key Managers roster (hhs.gov, content reviewed 2026-04-27, fetched 2026-08-25). BID Director vacancy announcement (arpa-h.gov, April 2026). Open funding opportunities (arpa-h.gov). The Wegrzyn-to-Jackson transition narrative is partly trade press and is annotated as background, not roster data. Data current as of August 25, 2026.

What changed since this was published? Vacancies fill. Acting designations turn Permanent. We re-verify quarterly. If you spot a stale entry, email mary@missionmeetstech.com · we will update and re-cite.