Don I. Wortman

Don Irvin Wortman (November 10, 1927 – March 27, 2020) was a U.S. federal government administrator who served 27 years in senior-level executive positions in many federal government agencies. He was Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) from December 13, 1977, to October 4, 1978. In early 1977, while working at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)—precursor to the Department of Health and Human Services—he was Chairman of the task force for implementing the reorganization of HEW. This reorganization included the merging of the Medicare and Medicaid programs into a new agency; this agency was named the Health Care Financing Administration (and renamed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in June 2001). He became the first Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration. On two occasions—6 months in 1975 and the first 3 months of 1977—he was Acting Administrator of the Social and Rehabilitation Services, the agency which, at that time, administered the Medicaid program and the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.

During President Gerald Ford’s administration in 1975-1976, Wortman played a major role in resettling 60,000 Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. (pursuant to the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act). From 1965 to 1971, he worked at the Office of Economic Opportunity (federal anti-poverty program), where he helped launch Head Start, Upward Bound, and the Community Action Program.

Other federal government agencies in which Wortman served as a senior-level executive include the Atomic Energy Commission, the Price Commission, and the Central Intelligence Agency, where he was the deputy director for administration. In several of these posts, he was directed to take over running them, as political appointees left for other positions. In the early 1980s, he joined NAPA and became its Vice President and its Director of Federal Programs; he continued working at NAPA until 1995. In this capacity, he used his government experience and leadership skills to assist hundreds of federal executives. 1972 Distinguished Service Award from the Price Commission 1973 Meritorious Service Award, Federal Government Accountants Association 1975 Certificate of Appreciation from President Gerald Ford for his work on behalf of the Vietnamese refugees 1978 Ewell T. Bartlett Memorial Award for Humanity in Government from the Social Security Administration 1981 Intelligence Medal of Merit, for meritorious service, from Stansfield Turner, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency 2014 National Academy of Public Administration names its executive board room in honor of Don I. Wortman