Kathy J. Greenlee was appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama as the fourth Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Senate in June 2009.

As Assistant Secretary for Aging, Greenlee oversaw a budget of $1.9 billion, $819 million of which funds senior nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels.

The agency also funds $539 million in grants to programs to help seniors stay in their homes through services (such as accomplishing essential activities of daily living, like getting to the doctor's office, buying groceries etc.)

In that capacity, she led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million.

Her department oversaw the state's Older Americans Act programs, the distribution of Medicaid long-term care payments and regulation of nursing home licensure and survey processes.