Paula M. Stannard Appointed as Director of the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights
Paula M. Stannard – Director of the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights.
Paula M. Stannard, former Chief Legal Counsel of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, has been appointed as Office for Civil Rights Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Stannard replaces Acting OCR Director Anthony Archeval, who has held the post since Melanie Fontes Rainer resigned in January 2025.
Stannard is no stranger to the HHS, having previously served as Senior Counselor and Advisor to former HHS Secretaries Tom Price and Alex Azar between 2017 and 2021 under the previous Trump administration, and Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for six years between 2003 and 2009 under the George W. Bush Administration. Stannard also has more than 16 years of legal experience in private practice, including six years as counsel in the Health Care Practice Group at Alston and Bird, LLP in Washington, D.C., and 10 years as a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in Chicago.
“I’m proud to welcome Paula back to HHS,” said Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announcing Stannard’s appointment. “She’s a proven public servant who delivered results during her time at HHS under both President Trump and President George W. Bush.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. went on to say, “Paula brings deep institutional knowledge, relentless focus, and an unwavering commitment to civil rights. Under her leadership, the Office for Civil Rights will drive forward President Trump’s bold civil rights agenda with clarity, energy, and purpose.”
As head of OCR, Stannard is responsible for overseeing the enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. OCR’s enforcement actions are vital for ensuring compliance with the HIPAA Rules to ensure the privacy and security of healthcare data. So far this year, OCR has announced that 16 enforcement actions have been resolved with civil monetary penalties or settlements, equaling the number of financial penalties collected in all of 2024. In terms of funds raised, OCR has collected more in HIPAA settlements and civil monetary penalties in the first 5 months of 2024 than in 2022 and 2023 combined.
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While financial penalties are up year-over-year, Stannard takes the helm at OCR at a time when there is a sizeable backlog of investigations, with the latter fueled by a sharp increase in hacking incidents and ransomware attacks in recent years. In 2023 and 2024, OCR received approximately twice as many reports of large data breaches as in 2018.
In addition to an increased workload, OCR has had a sharp decrease in the number of investigators on staff, which has been a key factor in the increase in the investigations backlog, with many positions remaining vacant. According to the HHS fiscal 2026 budget request, at the end of fiscal year 2024, OCR had a backlog of 6,532 investigations, but in May 2025, the backlog had more than doubled to 13,274. It should be noted that backlog does not imply that HIPAA investigations will be dropped, only that they will take longer to investigate.
Stannard will also take charge of OCR’s efforts to enforce federal civil rights, conscience, and religious freedom laws, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and religion. The enforcement of civil rights laws has been a priority for OCR in the first few months of the Trump administration, including investigations of universities, medical schools, and hospitals over alleged discriminatory practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, as part of the administration’s drive to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and tackle discrimination against individuals based on their actual or perceived Israeli or Jewish identity or ancestry.
“I am excited and honored to lead the Office for Civil Rights at HHS under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy,” said OCR Director Paula Stannard. “I look forward to advancing the significant and highly visible priorities of OCR and protecting the civil rights of Americans who participate in the programs or organizations that HHS operates and funds.”
