Chief of Staff
Sean M. Keefer
Chief of Staff
Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH)
Chief of Staff
Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH)
Sean Keefer was appointed as Chief of Staff on April 14, 2011by Greg Larkin, MD , State Health Commissioner. He brings extensive knowledge from both the private and public sectors to the State Department of Health.
Prior to his appointment, Sean served as Deputy Secretary of State and Chief of Staff in the Indiana Secretary of State's office. Before joining the Secretary of State’s office, he served as the Director of Global Health & Science Policy for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). One of his key responsibilities was to spear-head legislative efforts at the state and federal level on various health-related initiatives with the NFL, NCAA, American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among other organizations. He also served on many committees to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles, including serving as one of the U.S. liaisons for Rafa/PANA (Physical Activity Network of the Americas), and served as chair of the Media and Policy Committee for the "Exercise is Medicine" initiative which worked directly with the U.S. Surgeon General's office. He also worked with leadership from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to execute a Memorandum of Understanding between ACSM and the World Health Organization to tackle health issues such as diabetes, obesity and built environment in urban settings in North and Central/South America.
Sean also served as the Deputy Commissioner for the Indiana Department of Labor under the Daniels' administration. In his role as Director of the State OSHA Consultation program-INSafe Indiana, he managed a team that worked to educate and ensure workplace safety and health. In 2008, in his role as Director, Indiana was awarded for the first time the US Department of Labor’s Excellence in OSHA Consultation Program Award. Additionally, he was co-chair of the state's largest Work Safety and Health conference from 2007-2010. He also served as the Legislative Director and Public Information Officer.
Previously, he worked in the public affairs division of Bose Public Affairs where he worked on various regulatory and legislative initiatives for clients including Nestle and the "Major Moves" Consortium.
Sean graduated from Hillsdale College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political economics. Additionally, he earned his Master of Arts degree in Western European Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington. Moreover, he did graduate work in international public policy and development at Georgetown University where the course work sent him to Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years which enabled him to become fluent in Spanish.
A native of Fort Wayne, Sean currently resides in Fishers, IN with his wife, Gabriela, and his children, Santiago and Ramiro.
Stay Connected
