Jennifer Waldinger

Director
State of Illinois’ Health and Human Services Innovation Incubator (HHSi2)

Jennifer is the Director of the State of Illinois’ Health and Human Services Innovation Incubator (HHSi2), which was established to help facilitate more coordinated and collaborative delivery of health and human services programs to Illinois’ most vulnerable populations. HHSi2’s cornerstone initiative is the Illinois Shared Interoperability Platform (ISIP), which integrates data from disparate sources to provide a holistic view of the services and benefits people receive. By leveraging advanced data management solutions, such as MDM, ISIP will improve the State’s capacity to provide more person-centric service delivery and support data-driven decision-making.

Jennifer began her career in state government over 25 years ago working for the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor’s Office. She has served in leadership roles at the Illinois Department of Revenue, Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Central Management Services, Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Jennifer also took an eight-year hiatus from state government during which she launched her own consulting business, The Waldinger Group, which helped to secure the first private manager agreement with a state-owned lottery in the United States.

Jennifer, a Chicago native, graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She lives in Springfield, Illinois where she has received recognition for her volunteerism, most notably for establishing the Springfield Social Club. Under her leadership, the club promoted dozens of locally owned small businesses and supported over 60 charities, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Central Illinois and Habitat for Humanity. She is the proud mother of three adult children and a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan.