Core of Leavitt's Team Dates To His Days as Utah Governor

Describing his 1995 mayoral bid as "an exercise in poor judgment," McKeown stressed that although he was a registered Democrat, the race was a nonpartisan election. The following year he was appointed as a Democratic nominee to the state tax commission, and in 1999 he became Leavitt's chief of staff.

These days, McKeown and his wife are empty-nesters, with all five of their children away at school or working. He is a graduate of Ohio University and the University of Utah College of Law.

· Natalie Gochnour , 43, counselor to the secretary, has worked for Leavitt since he was first sworn in as governor in 1993. Of the HHS counselors, she is "very much at large," she said, roaming across high-priority areas such as health information technology, the secretary's speeches and implementation of the 500-day plan.

An economist by training, Gochnour said she brings "fresh eyes" to a department dominated by medical experts. She received her undergraduate and master's degrees in economics from the University of Utah. Gochnour and her husband have two children.

· Charles Johnson , 69, worked in the private sector for 30 years before joining Leavitt's team in 1993. Currently chief financial officer at the EPA, Johnson is expected to be confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary for budget, technology and finance at HHS.

A certified public accountant who has served on numerous public and private boards, Johnson ran Leavitt's 2000 reelection campaign. After retiring from the KPMG accounting firm in 1991, he did stints as the head of the governor's Office of Planning and Budget in Utah and then as Leavitt's chief of staff.

Johnson is a graduate of Brigham Young University. He and his wife have six grown children.

· Suzanne DeFrancis , 56, is awaiting Senate confirmation as assistant secretary for public affairs, a job currently held by Wisconsin-transplant Kevin Keane.

DeFrancis got her start in Republican Party politics as a speechwriter for Spiro Agnew. Her career has included speechwriting or communications jobs on Capitol Hill, at the Republican National Committee, and, most recently, in the Bush White House as deputy assistant to the president for communications.