2019 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony Program

23 D istinguished H onoree C ommencement S peaker for M orning C eremony Mary C. Mayhew, B.S., is the Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration in Florida. Appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in January 2019, Mayhew previously served as the deputy administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and director of Medicaid. She also oversaw the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Prior to that position, Mayhew spent seven years as the commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), under Paul LePage, the former governor of Maine. During her tenure, Mayhew oversaw many of the state’s most vital programs, including Aging and Disability Services, Child Welfare, Adult Protective Services, and the state’s Medicaid program, for which Mayhew led reforms. Under LePage, Mayhew was a senior staff adviser on health care and other issues before her appointment as the DHHS commissioner. Born in Pittsfield, Maine, Mayhew was a teenager when she moved with her family to Arkansas, where she became involved in local politics. She served as a Congressional page in Washington, D.C., while attending high school, then enrolled at the University of Arkansas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. Mayhew later served as a legislative assistant to former U.S. Rep. William Alexander of Arkansas in Washington, D.C., and as the manager of state government relations for Equifax Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia. After moving back to Maine, Mayhew established a lobbying practice, gradually specializing in health care. She served as vice president of the Maine Hospital Association for 11 years and was a partner in the public affairs firm of Hawkes & Mayhew, based in Augusta, Maine.