ESA Administrator
Anthea Seymour is the administrator of DHS’s Economic Security Administration (ESA) where she manages a budget of $290 million and a team of nearly 790 dedicated District government employees.
Anthea has served in DC government since 1997 where she has held positions as chief of staff and chief operating officer at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital, chief information officer at the DC Child and Family Services Agency, and as a social worker.
Since becoming ESA administrator, Anthea has enhanced the delivery of public assistance and case management services to more than 280,000 District residents, driven the redesign of the District’s public benefits eligibility business process, utilized system-wide strategies to develop the new DC Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and led the development of enhanced career and job training programs.
Anthea led ESA through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and shifted business operations and realigned ESA staff to ensure the continued delivery of cash, food, and health benefits, and established the new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) for the DC Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) to support the dissemination of federal emergency funds to District residents.
Anthea has leveraged technology to enhance residents' access to services and resources by leading the development of a mobile app, online application, and assessment tool for public benefits.
Anthea is a graduate of the George Washington University Certified Public Manager Program and the Carnegie Mellon University Chief Information Officer Certificate Program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Maryland and a Master of Social Work from Howard University. Anthea is also a participant in the DHS Bold Racial Accountability and Vision for Equity (B.R.AV.E.) Team, which focuses on creating a more equitable, inclusionary, and stronger agency.