Kristi Putnam

Secretary, Arkansas Department of Human Services

Elected Director

Kristi Putnam became the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Human Services in January 2023. She has more than 25 years of policy and hands-on experience in human services, early childhood services, education, workforce development, and health policy, including innovations in Kentucky Medicaid and human-centered public benefits technology, implementation of Florida’s School Readiness system, leadership in landmark child protection and foster care improvements across three states, and contributions to a number of other innovative statewide policy and process initiatives.

Kristi previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), helping lead impactful and collaborative reforms, a cabinet with more than 8,000 employees and an operating budget of over $14 billion. She also was the statewide Child Welfare Services Manager for the Florida Department of Children and Families, where she was responsible for overseeing Florida’s privatized foster and adoption system of care.

After her time at CHFS in Kentucky, Kristi co-founded Connecting the Dots Policy Solutions, a policy consulting group focused on driving government innovations in the intersection of health, human services, education, workforce development, and economic growth. Clients included the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration on Children and Families, a national health plan, a Florida-based foster and adoption nonprofit, and the state of Arkansas. Most recently, Kristi served as the Chief People Officer for AppHarvest, a publicly traded agtech startup company in Kentucky that prioritized fair-chance and supported employment in Eastern Kentucky.

Kristi and her husband Claude live in Little Rock, Arkansas, and have three adult daughters and three grandchildren.