Kim Belshé was recently named senior policy advisor of the Public Policy Institute of California, where she will serve as a resource to PPIC leadership and staff as well as the broader policy community on health and social services, fiscal, governance and related reforms.
 
Kim brings to PPIC a wealth of experience in leadership positions in state government. She currently serves on the five-member board of the state's new Health Benefit Exchange, a centerpiece of federal health reform which will create a new marketplace for consumers and small businesses to shop for health insurance, starting in 2014. Belshé was secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency throughout Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure. In this capacity she was a member of the governor's cabinet and his chief advisor on health, social services, and rehabilitative policies. She previously held a number of leadership positions in state government, including director of the Department of Health Services and deputy secretary of the then-Health and Welfare Agency under Governor Pete Wilson.

She has also served in leadership positions in California philanthropy, including program director for The James Irvine Foundation.  Kim’s civic activities are varied and include service on the Board of the Crocker Art Museum, the California Children and Families Commission and the Great Valley Center, dedicated to the sustainability of California’s Central Valley region.

Kim is a native of San Francisco and holds a master's degree in public policy from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College.