Teri Watson is the new legislative coordinator/senior policy analyst for the Workers’ Compensation Division at the state Department of Consumer and Business Services. Watson held similar roles at the Building Codes Division and Oregon OSHA, which also are part of DCBS, and recently worked with the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council. She replaces Cara Filsinger, who retires July 1 after 31 years of state service.

Mike Savara has been appointed special initiatives director at Oregon Housing and Community Services, leading the agency’s implementation of Gov. Tina Kotek’s emergency order on homelessness. During three years at OHCS, he has been interim chief programs officer and assistant director of homeless services.

Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, appointed Rene Braga to the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council to represent the environmental justice community and Debi Lorence to represent the forestland owners. They replace Alessandra de la Torre and Carol Whipple on the council.

Rayfield appointed Rep. Jules Walters, D-West Linn, to the Willamette Falls Locks Authority.

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have given the Biden administration the names of six finalists for replacing U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez next year: attorneys Nadia Dahab and Kevin Diaz, Multnomah County circuit judges Amy Baggio and Katherine von Ter Stegge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai and Monica Goracke, executive director of the Oregon Law Center.

Mike Harryman is now resilience manager, leading business continuity for the state Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority. He served more than six years as Oregon’s first state resilience officer under Gov. Kate Brown. Before that, he spent 10 years in the Public Health Division as director of emergency operations.

Jamie McLeod-Skinner is strategic initiatives manager, working with the DHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management. She previously worked part-time as a member of the Central and Eastern Oregon OREM team. (Last year she ran for the 5th Congressional District, winning the Democratic primary before losing to Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the general election.)

Julia Shumway has been promoted to deputy editor of the Oregon Capital Chronicle, while continuing to lead the news organization’s legislative and political coverage. She also is president of the Capitol press corps, formally called the Oregon Legislative Correspondents Association.