Chris Egan is the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Community Access for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees a portfolio of programs that help people with disabilities and other historically underserved populations achieve their goals for employment, more independent living, increased financial self-sufficiency and community access. Egan believes that our communities are stronger when all North Carolinians have opportunities to work, live and play together.

Employment is a key factor driving overall health and wellbeing and is an essential conduit for people with disabilities to develop natural support networks, fully participate in home and community life, and increase their independence and economic self-sufficiency. In his role as Assistant Secretary for Employment and Community Access, Egan is focused on expanding access to competitive integrated employment services for North Carolinians with disabilities. He champions the Department’s Employment First state as model employer and systems change efforts and other key priorities, including the State Olmstead Plan, Transitions to Community Living, and Medicaid Transformation.

Egan graduated with a Master of Social Work from East Carolina University and got his start as a Clinical Social Worker at Dorothea Dix Hospital in 1989, supporting community transitions for adults with severe and persistent mental health issues. Egan also directed the Developmental Disabilities Training Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill and served as Executive Director of the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, leading systems change efforts designed to elevate awareness, expand options, and increase access to education, employment and community living for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

Egan provides oversight of six DHHS divisions, including Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities, Services for the Blind, Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Disability Determination Services, the Office of Economic Opportunity, and the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities. On behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Egan also serves on the NCWorks Commission, advising on policies and strategies that enable the state’s workforce and businesses to compete in the global economy.