Pride Student Summit

(he / him)

Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Social Services and Innovation

Daniel Walker is the Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. He is the highest-ranking LGBTQ+ person in Delaware’s executive branch.

In this role, he leads Delaware’s array of social service programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing, and Child Support Services. Daniel also leads the Department’s efforts around the Governor’s Family Services Cabinet Council with a goal of streamlining state services for targeted impact.

Prior to his appointment, he served as the Chief of Staff for Wilmington City Council, where he was the youngest and first openly LGBTQ+ individual to hold the role. During his tenure, he was influential in reforming the Council’s effectiveness in legislative discussions and helped to negotiate the first-ever violence prevention funding in the City’s base budget and over $8 million in public safety initiative funding utilizing American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funds.

Daniel, a believer in harnessing the power and influence of community to shape policy discussions, got his start as a community organizer working to reform the criminal justice system. He has also been influential in policy discussions around education as a founding staffer of the Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now (CAN). Eventually, working his way up to Executive Director, leading both DelawareCAN and the DelawareCAN Action Fund, he has worked with elected officials from both parties, business leaders, non-profit executives, and faith leaders. During his time as Executive Director, he attracted the first round of national funding for the organization and built a base of over 1,000 volunteers, including over 300 students working to reform Delaware’s education system.

Daniel has worked for Senator Chris Coons, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, and the Delaware General Assembly. He has also served on numerous boards, including Planned Parenthood of Delaware, Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCI), Delaware Young Democrats, and the Rock Manor Golf Corporation. He is a 2019 Leadership Delaware Fellow, 2019 Policy Innovator in Education Fellow, a 2024 Milbank Memorial Fund Leadership Fellow. He has also been inducted into the Delaware Business Times 40 under 40.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Delaware and a Master’s degree with a concentration in public administration from Wilmington University. Daniel is a native Delawarean who lives in Wilmington with his husband and new puppy.