BWC Administrator Appointed Health Director

Friday, November 6, 2020 | 0

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday appointed Bureau of Workers’ Compensation CEO and administrator Stephanie McCloud to serve as director of the state Department of Health, according to multiple media reports.

Stephanie McCloud

None of the reports mention whether the governor named a permanent or interim replacement for McCloud at the BWC.

The governor announced the appointment during an afternoon press conference. Information about the appointment was not available on the governor’s website Thursday afternoon, and the BWC web page continued to list McCloud as the agency’s CEO and administrator.

McCloud will replace Dr. Amy Acton, who resigned as health director in June. Acton reportedly resigned because she was worried she “might be forced to sign health orders that violated her Hippocratic oath to do no harm,” according to a report by WKYC in Cleveland.

DeWine appointed McCloud to serve as administrator and CEO of the BWC in January 2019. She brought 20 years of experience in public administration and workers’ compensation to the position, according to her biography on the bureau’s web page.

Before joining the BWC, McCloud was senior vice president at Sedgwick Claims Management Services and also ran a private law firm in Columbus, McCloud Law.

McCloud started her career as a staff attorney for the BWC. She went on to serve as legal counsel to former Gov. George Voinovich and the state Department of Transportation. Later, McCloud joined the office of former state Attorney General Jim Petro, first serving as deputy attorney general and later as chief counsel.

McCloud earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University and a law degree from the Capital University Law School.