Organizational Intelligence · MMT Premium
Indian Health Service
Leadership and Contracting Organization
Current as of August 25, 2026
• Director: Mark Cruz (confirmed Aug 7, 2026)
• Sources: ihs.gov/aboutihs/keyleaders · ihs.gov/DAP/staff
← IHS profile
ℹ
IHS has a confirmed Director again. Mark Cruz (Klamath Tribes) was Senate-confirmed August 7, 2026 as the 12th IHS Director, ending roughly 18 months without one. The bench under him is thin: 6 of 12 Area Director seats are Acting, two headquarters offices are Vacant, and the DAP staff page shows multiple open contracting officer positions. For contractors, the load-bearing facts are lower down: CIO Mitchell Thornbrugh owns the PATH EHR modernization (GDIT integrator, Oracle Health EHR, Lawton pilot go-live 2026), and Chantel Smith remains the permanent Head of Contracting Activity.
Director · Senate-Confirmed
Mark Cruz
Director, Indian Health Service (12th Director)
Confirmed Aug 7, 2026 · previously Tribal Senior Advisor to the HHS Secretary
Deputy
Benjamin Smith
Deputy Director
Chief of Staff
Clayton W. Fulton
Chief of Staff · Delegated Authority of the IHS Director
Management Ops
Darrell LaRoche
Deputy Director for Management Operations
Medicine
Loretta Christensen, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Field Ops
Beverly Cotton
Deputy Director for Field Operations
Two additional Field Operations deputy seats listed Vacant
Intergov & External
Stacey Ecoffey
Deputy Director for Intergovernmental and External Affairs
Quality
Michelle Boylan
Deputy Director for Quality Healthcare and Enterprise Risk Management
Health IT · PATH EHR
Mitchell Thornbrugh
CIO · Director, Office of Information Technology (OIT)
Owns the RPMS replacement: PATH EHR · GDIT integrator, Oracle Health EHR · pilot at Lawton Service Unit, go-live 2026
Management · Parent of Acquisitions
Santiago Almaraz
Director, Office of Management Services (OMS)
Deputy: Evonne Bennett · the acquisition chain runs Director → OMS → DAP
Finance
Jillian Curtis
Director, Office of Finance and Accounting
Resource Access
Cmdr. Tracy Sanchez
Acting Director, Office of Resource Access and Partnerships
Acting
Environmental Health
Capt. Martin L. Smith, RS, MPH
Director, Office of Environmental Health and Engineering
Clinical Services
Vijay Kannan, MD, MPH
Acting Director, Office of Clinical and Preventive Services
Acting
Public Health
Rear Adm. Francis Frazier
Director, Office of Public Health Support
Self-Determination
Rena Macy
Acting Director, Office of Indian Self-Determination and Self-Governance
Acting
External Affairs
VACANT
Director, Office of External Affairs
Open Role
Tribal & Urban Affairs
VACANT
Director, Office of Tribal and Urban Affairs
Open Role
HCA · Permanent
Chantel Smith
Director, Division of Acquisition Policy (DAP) · Head of Contracting Activity
Verified live Aug 25, 2026 on both the DAP and OMS staff pages · Chantel.Smith@ihs.gov
Deputy (Conflicting Listings)
Unconfirmed
Deputy Director, DAP
Two live official pages disagree: the DAP staff page lists Jeffrey Johnston; the OMS staff page lists Magdelenda Hudson as Acting. One is stale. Treat the seat as unconfirmed until IHS reconciles.
Field Contracting
12 Area Chiefs of the Contracting Office
Named per-Area on the DAP staff page, plus a Division of Engineering Services contracting chief
4+ headquarters contracting officer seats listed vacant
The Area picture: 12 Areas (Alaska, Albuquerque, Bemidji, Billings, California, Great Plains, Nashville, Navajo, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Tucson). As of Aug 25, 2026, six Area Director seats are Acting: Alaska (Lyle J. Claw), Bemidji (Cmdr. Craig Morin), Billings (Asha Petoskey), Nashville (Joni Lyon), Oklahoma City (Travis Scott), and Phoenix (Dixie Gaikowski, who is simultaneously the permanent Tucson Area Director). Permanent: Albuquerque (Leonard Thomas, MD), California (Beverly Miller), Great Plains (Joe Amiotte), Navajo (DuWayne Begay), Portland (Rear Adm. Marcus Martinez, PE).