Carpet in the Oregon governor's ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem. (Oregon Capital Insider)

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swore in Mark Cruz as a senior adviser on Wednesday. Cruz, a member of the Klamath Tribe, was chief of staff for Oregon House Republican leaders Christine Drazan and Vikki Breese-Iverson. Before that, he was a deputy assistant secretary for Indian affairs in the U.S. Interior Department. After leaving the state House Republican Caucus staff in 2023, he joined Gallatin Public Affairs.

Katie Bruns was hired as the deputy administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Division. She has 18 years’ experience in the workers’ compensation industry, including 13 years with WCD. She worked as an auditor, vocational reviewer, policy analyst and, most recently, manager of the Employer Compliance Unit.

Jenny Ogawa will retire from the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board on July 1 after working in the system for 40 years, including more than 25 years’ service with the state.

Connie Landis joined the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division as the Confined Animal Feeding Operation Program manager. For four years, she was the produce safety program manager at the Washington State Department of Agriculture. A native of Central Oregon, she has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oregon State University, a doctorate from North Carolina State University and a graduate certificate in U.S. food law from Michigan State University.

After a six-month rotation as interim Field Operations director for the Department of Early Learning and Care​, Kristina Austin was selected for the permanent position. In a similar transition, Dorothy Spence is the new Early Learning Programs director. She had filled that role on rotation since January as part of the DELC Leadership Development Program. 

Torrey Sims is ending his job rotation as the Department of Education’s interim assistant superintendent in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, where he has worked since December.  He will return to the Department of Administrative Services at the end of the month.

Megan Auclair is now interim deputy superintendent at Oregon State Hospital.

Jim Severson, who was principal of Lord High School at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, moved to the Willamette Education Service District as director of secondary partnerships.

Steve Marks, former executive director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, agreed to a $1,500 fine for buying a bottle of rare bourbon before it was available to the public. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission approved the agreement Friday after balking at the $500 fine proposed last month. Marks paid $329.99, the same price as in OLCC stores, for the bottle of Pappy Van Winkle that had been barrel-aged for 23 years.

Gov. Tina Kotek spoke at Southern Oregon University commencement on Saturday. It was her first commencement speech since becoming governor. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who sought to run against Kotek in the 2022 Democratic primary for governor, gave the commencement address on Saturday at Oregon State University. He also spoke at Linfield University’s graduation on June 1.

Laura Gunderson was promoted to editor and vice president of content for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She began working for the newspaper in 1995 while a University of Portland student and has been a reporter, editorial/opinion pages editor and managing editor. Gunderson succeeds Therese Bottomly, who retires Aug. 1.

The Oregon Public Broadcasting board elected new leaders, effective July 1: chair John Tapogna; vice chair, Curtis Robinhold; and secretary/treasurer, Peter Platt.

John McIntyre, lead custodian at Sacramento Elementary School in the Parkrose School District, was named Oregon’s 2025 Education Support Professional of the Year.

If you have an update on who’s coming or going – or taking on a new assignment – in state government or organizations involved with it, email Dick Hughes at TheHughesisms@gmail.com.