Marylou Sudders, who oversaw COVID-19 response efforts and helmed the sprawling well being and human providers secretariat, plans to retire from public service early subsequent 12 months.

Sudders notified state workers Monday of her plans in her month-to-month e-newsletter, which she mentioned could be her final.

“Having entered state service in 1978, it has been the privilege of my professional career and an extraordinarily humbling experience to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services for Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito,” Sudders wrote. “In November, ‘my papers’ for retirement from paid public service were filed with an effective date of January 5th.”

Sudders was a part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s cupboard all through his two phrases and ran a secretariat with a $27.1 billion price range in fiscal 2022. She wrote that one in every of her predecessors had identified she was the longest-serving state secretary of well being and human providers.

“The goal has always been to channel the millions of Massachusetts residents that need governmental assistance in order to have good lives for themselves and their loved ones,” she wrote. “And, to achieve that goal it was my responsibility to ensure that the resources were there for you to carry out your mission of public service. There is always more work ahead, challenges to surmount and opportunities for improvement. This message will not catalogue all of your extraordinary efforts as employees within health and human services; the list would be voluminous and no doubt something would be unintentionally omitted.

Sudders thanked her coworkers for “your willingness to be public workers, significantly all through the previous virtually three years.”

“Your willingness to transcend the general public’s usually derisive picture of public service, to confront seemingly insolvable points with creativity and openness, and with the intrinsic information that we interact on this work to assist others,” she wrote. “I’ve each confidence that Governor-elect Healey and Lt. Governor-elect Driscoll will worth your service to others.”

Gov.-elect Maura Healey has not but named Sudders’ successor. Sudders was state psychological well being commissioner for seven years ending in early 2003, and was president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children from 2003 till 2012.