Delia served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina's largest and most complicated agency with 17,000 employees and an $18 billion annual budget. Delia left office at the end of 2012. During his tenure, Delia led the effort to successfully transform both mental health services and work support strategies. He began implementation of two new large information technology projects - the State's Medicaid Management Information System and NC Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) and rolled-out a first in the nation Medicaid fraud detection data analytics system. Delia also laid the groundwork for justification of Medicaid expansion and a state-based health benefits exchange in North Carolina.
Al Delia was appointed acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in February 2012 by Governor Bev Perdue after three years as a policy director and senior advisor to the governor. Prior to joining the governor’s office, much of his career was focused on economic development in some of the most challenged areas of North Carolina.
Delia was president and CEO of the North Carolina’s Eastern Region Development Commission, overseeing business recruitment, retention, expansion and creation in a 13-county region. He also served for more than 10 years as associate vice chancellor for Research, Economic Development and Community Engagement at East Carolina University (ECU).
Delia is a graduate of the University in Madison, New Jersey. He lives in Greenville, NC. He is married to Cecelia Karas and has two adult sons, Jordan and Alex.
