Debra C. Farrington, NC DHHS Deputy Secretary / Chief Health Equity Officer is a native North Carolinian reared and educated in rural Columbus County. Through her humble beginnings in Chadbourn, Debra learned the value of family, hard work and perseverance. From her mother, who raised five children after being widowed at the age 28, Debra learned to work diligently, never give up on your dreams and always strive for better. Debra’s values of fairness, equity and concern for others along with her deep faith were shaped by her grandparents and mother, a factory worker who didn’t finish high school but earned her GED at the age of 45. With their love, support and guidance, Debra received a BA in Psychology and Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a licensed clinical social worker with over 30 years of experience in community based services for children and adults with behavioral health needs.
Debra enjoys learning and teaching and has been privileged to teach children, youth and adults in her local church. During the COVID pandemic Debra, along with several community members, began conducting community outreach and vaccinations drives to reach Columbus County residents who were experiencing higher than average rates of COVID infections and death due to the poor access to health care services, poverty and lack of information. Debra led COVID informational calls for Columbus County initially weekly and now monthly for the past two years.
Debra joined the Medicaid program in October 2016 as a member of the program design team responsible the design, development and implementation of the 1115 Waiver and was later appointed chief of staff, providing support to the Deputy Secretary on overall program vision, leadership and strategic direction to NC Medicaid. Her primary duties included planning, implementing, coordinating and evaluating operations and policies to promote health equity, effective program administration and service delivery. One of Debra’s biggest priorities during her tenure as chief of staff was to support the staff who work within Medicaid with special attention to equity in hiring, career advancement and HR policies for historically marginalized individuals.
As the newly appointed Deputy Secretary/Chief Health Equity Officer, Debra will focus on addressing health disparities and the health needs of North Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens.