The Oregon Department of Corrections filled several key positions:

• Gary Ninman was appointed acting inspector general, replacing Craig Prins, who became interim director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission. Ninman was DOC’s Professional Development Unit administrator.

• Larry Bennett is assistant director of Correctional Services. He previously was deputy administrator for the Community Corrections Division.

• Amber Campbell was named communications manager after serving in an acting capacity. She works out of Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario and previously coordinated work programs there.

• Cindy Booth is on a job rotation as DOC legislative manager, having been programs and services administrator for the Correctional Services Division.

• Dave Pedro is acting superintendent of Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton. He has been EOCI assistant superintendent of security.

George Naughton, the state’s longtime chief financial officer, is heading out the door. Gov. Tina Kotek picked Kate Nass, the deputy chief financial officer for the past five and a half years, to replace him. Naughton and other officials declined to say why he was leaving. He and the Department of Administrative Services leadership have not finalized the details and date of his departure.

Dave Baden takes over as interim director of the Oregon Health Authority on Friday. Kotek appointed him after James Schroeder resigned from the interim position. Bader is OHA’s chief financial officer. 

House Speaker Dan Rayfield appointed Reps. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, and Kim Wallan, R-Medford, to the Transparency Oregon Advisory Commission; Rep. Hoa Nguyen, D-Portland, to the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, replacing Rep. Khanh Pham, D-Portland; Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Portland, to the Commission on Hispanic Affairs; and Rep. Grayber to the Commission for Women.

Rayfield and Senate President Rob Wagner appointed Rep. Emily McIntire, R-Eagle Point, to the Commission on Indian Services.

As of July 1, the University of Oregon’s president will be economist John Karl Scholz, currently provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The UO trustees on Monday unanimously chose him as the school’s 19th president. Patrick Phillips has been interim president since August. However, the trustees on Tuesday are expected to appoint Jamie Moffitt, senior vice president and chief financial officer, as interim until Scholz arrives.

Ann E. Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh, becomes president of Portland State University in August. The PSU trustees on Friday voted unanimously to appoint her as the university’s 11th president, succeeding Stephen Percy, who is retiring.

CTIA, the trade organization representing the wireless industry, hired former 2nd District Congressman Greg Walden as a lobbyist, according to Politico. Walden joined Alpine Advisors in Washington, D.C., after leaving Congress in 2021.

 

Shannon Geison will serve as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-6th District. She managed Salinas’ campaign for the primary and general elections and previously ran Schuyler VanValkenburg’s campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Salinas’ legislative director, Kelly Nickel, had that role for 5th District Congressman Kurt Schrader, overseeing his policy agenda and issues related to energy and commerce, labor and small businesses. She previously managed Schrader’s health policy portfolio as a senior advisor. Teddy Lake will be Salinas’ communications director. In 2022, Lake served as communications advisor to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Oregon, where she worked on the race for Oregon’s 6th District. Most recently, Lake was deputy press secretary to Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-California).