De Anna Conover serves as the assistant commissioner for Employee Culture for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She is responsible for services and policies that move DHS toward becoming a fully anti-racist and multicultural organization. Conover oversees the Human Resources Division to implement recommendations from the agency-wide cultural assessment and create an employee vision statement. She also works in collaboration with the chief equity officer to ensure employee processes and procedures are conducted through an anti-racism lens.
Before her appointment as assistant commissioner in 2021, Conover served as Interim Director of Community Relations, where she supported, developed and facilitated relationships between DHS and the community, and county, community and legislative relations. She served as Agency-wide Employee Engagement, Equity, and Retention Coordinator where she managed the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Mentoring Program, and provided agency-wide Organizational Development and Effectiveness, Equity and Inclusion and Employee Engagement consultation and support. Conover has also led the planning for the Senior Strategy Team, Directors’ and Managers’ Meetings, and New Employee Orientation, and has served as a member of the Strategic Antiracism Team (StART). She sponsors the People of Color Employee Resource Group at DHS.
Previously, Conover served as Development and Learning Consultant at Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) where she was responsible for Enterprise-wide Leadership Development programming, such as Commissioner Core, Emerging Leaders Institute, and Senior Leadership Institute, and is credited for shaping the Enterprise-wide Employee Engagement Survey for both MMB and DHS. She brings 20 years of experience in Organizational Development, Strategic Planning, Engagement, Equity and Inclusion, and Learning and Development to this position.
Conover is an alumna of the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas, and is a graduate of and former facilitator for the State of Minnesota’s Emerging Leaders Institute. She is a certified Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator, a Zenger Folkman 360 Facilitator, and a Winters Group certified Bold, Inclusive Conversations Facilitator. Conover is fluent in German and Spanish.
