Dr. Stephen Cha is the Acting Commissioner of Human Services for the State of New Jersey, where he leads the state’s largest and most complex department, serving millions of New Jerseyans through programs that support health care coverage, behavioral health, disability services, aging services, child and family supports, and economic assistance. 

Prior to joining the Sherrill Administration, Dr. Cha served as Counselor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, advising on a wide-ranging portfolio that included the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Indian Health Service, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. His work included cross-cutting issues such as maternal health and cannabis policy, and in that role, he coordinated the federal response to major crises such as COVID-19, and led Operation Fly Formula in response to the national infant formula shortage.

Previously, Dr. Cha spent more than a decade advancing Medicaid policy and innovation at both the federal and state levels for both the public and private sector. He served as Chief Medical Officer for a large national insurance company, responsible for the care of approximately six million Medicaid and CHIP members across 29 states and the District of Columbia. His federal service also includes six years at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as the first Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, and he led state-driven innovation for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Dr. Cha served for roughly six years as senior professional staff in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Government Reform. 

Additionally, he served as a part-time primary care physician for more than a decade at a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C.—experience that continues to inform his approach to human services leadership in New Jersey.

Dr. Cha is a graduate of Brown University with a bachelor of arts in political science,  and received his MD from Brown University School of Medicine, and received his masters in health services research from Yale University School of Medicine.