OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER - Carpet in the Oregon governor's ceremonial office in the state Capitol in Salem

Sonya McCormick rejoined the Oregon Department of Emergency Management as public/private partnership program manager. In December, she had moved to the Oregon Health Authority as a senior project manager.

Seiji Shiratori is OEM’s new legislative coordinator and strategic communications and partnerships section manager. He was policy director in the Oregon Department of Revenue’s Property Tax Division after being a foreign policy advisor for the U.S. military and a lengthy career with the U.S. State Department. In 1992-93, he was a legislative assistant for Republican Sen. Jeannette Hamby of Washington County. 

Also at OEM, Rachel Foley has been promoted to mitigation program representative working in non-disaster grants. Bridget Good has begun a job rotation as the new mitigation administrative assistant.

Oregon State Hospital Superintendent Dolly Matteucci will retire March 29 after six years at the helm. The next day, the hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sara Walker, will add interim superintendent to her duties. OHA plans a national recruitment for the next superintendent.

Maria Gomez, who had worked for Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, since 2022, took a job as a public affairs and communications coordinator for Washington County. She previously worked for Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland.

The Oregon Senate confirmed Roseburg City Councilor Ellen Porter to serve on the Land Conservation and Development Commission. She initially will complete the term for former Southern Oregon representative Stuart Warren, who relocated and now represents the Willamette Valley on the commission. An independent consultant, Porter previously worked for Roseburg Forest Products and Louisiana Pacific.

Rep. Thuy Tran, D-Portland, and Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, co-chair the Oregon Legislature’s Veterans’ Caucus.