Ellen Buettner was appointed in 2023 by Governor J. Kevin Stitt as the Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), Oklahoma’s Medicaid agency.

Previously, Ellen served as the Chief of Staff for OHCA, leading hundreds of employees and directing the agency’s administrative functions and core values of transparency, accountability, and operational excellence. Before joining OHCA, Ellen served as the Chief of Legislative Affairs for the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General in 2018.

From 2008-2018, Ellen held various administrative positions in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: Assistant General Counsel, Director of Human Resources, and Senior Director of Government Relations and Public Accountability.

Ellen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in 2004 and 2007 respectively. She later earned a Master’s Degree in Administrative Leadership in 2015 and a PH.D. in Communication in 2020 from the University of Oklahoma.