Lisa Taylor, chief of staff for retiring Senate President Peter Courtney, left this week to become government relations manager for the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services. Taylor had served in various roles for Courtney since 2014, with the exception of 15 months as a legislative assistant in Washington state.

Tess Seger is the new communications director for the Oregon Senate Majority Office. She previously worked for the public affairs firm Bryson Gillette, managed Nevada Rep. Susie Lee’s re-election campaign in 2020, and served as the Iowa communications director for Sen. Cory Booker’s presidential campaign.

Karmen Fore is chief of staff in Washington, D.C., for incoming U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, D-4th District. She was director of Oregon Solutions, a program of Portland State University’s National Policy Consensus Center. Before that, she worked in the Governor’s Office and for 4th District Rep. Peter DeFazio.

Dan Whelan, who was DeFazio’s deputy chief of staff and district director, is continuing that role with Hoyle.

Suzanne Kunse is deputy chief of staff and district director for incoming U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-6th District. She was district director for 5th District Rep. Kurt Schrader and his predecessor, Darlene Hooley.

Tyler Janzen, who was a legislative affairs manager at Association of Oregon Counties, is now vice president at Thorn Run Partners.

Aprille Flint-Gerner on Sunday took over as Oregon’s interim child welfare director. She was the Child Welfare Division’s deputy director for equity, training and workforce development. That move came after the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Oregon’s child welfare director, Rebecca Jones Gaston, as commissioner of the Administration of Children, Youth, and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Patrick Allen, whose resignation as Oregon Health Authority director was to take effect Jan. 9, took over this week as head of the New Mexico Department of Health. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Allen to the cabinet position.

How valued are Oregon’s top jobs? As the state recruits department directors for current or upcoming vacancies, the top salaries being offered include $270,912 at Corrections, $230,820 at the Oregon Lottery, $222,804 at Agriculture, $202,092 at Emergency Management and $166,344 at Aviation.