Kathleen Falk (born June 26, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and policymaker from Wisconsin who served as Dane County Executive from 1997 until 2011.

[1] A Democrat, Falk unsuccessfully sought the party's nomination for Governor of Wisconsin in 2002 and in the 2012 recall election.

Falk was the first woman to serve as Dane County Executive and to seek a major party's gubernatorial nomination in Wisconsin.

[9] Falk enlarged the county sheriff's department by adding 134 new positions,[10] opened a juvenile justice facility,[11][12] and launched a community-based initiative aimed at gang prevention.

[17] [citation needed] In 2006, Falk challenged and defeated Peg Lautenschlager in a Democratic primary for Wisconsin Attorney General.

[18] In October 2010, Falk announced that she would step down midway through her fourth term as county executive in April 2011, citing an interest in contributing to public policy in a new way.

[21] In September 2013, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed Falk to serve as DHHS's Region V Director.

Region V encompasses a six-state area that includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.