Kathryn Jones starts work Monday as the Legislature’s transportation project manager. Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey created the position to help guide development of a transportation funding package for the 2025 Legislature. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brigham Young University and a master’s in public administration from Arizona State. She then begin working for Oregon’s departments of Transportation, Treasury, Education and, most recently, Revenue. She also had a temporary assignment with Gov. Kate Brown as Oregon22 project manager.

Jeanine Stice is the new policy analyst for the Senate Republican Office dealing with health care, human services and education. Stice has been a dietician, nutritionist and community health consultant; an aide to Salem Republican legislators Denyc Boles and Jackie Winters; and a Statesman Journal columnist and editorial board member.

Retiring state Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, won’t resign on Sept. 30 after all. His departure would have enabled his presumptive successor, Rep. Khan Pham, D-Portland, to be appointed to his seat and Willy Chotzen to then fill Pham’s seat. Dembrow said the state Elections Division confirmed his plan, but the Department of Justice subsequently said state law would not allow it.

“When a vacancy occurs within 60 days of an election, whether the seat is being challenged or not, there cannot be an appointment process, and the seat would have to remain vacant until the next Legislature is sworn in,” Dembrow wrote in his constituent newsletter this week. “Leaving the seat unrepresented is not an option for me, so it looks as if my time in the Legislature will continue for another few months” until Pham is sworn in on Jan. 13, 2025.

Jamal Fox takes over on Monday as deputy director at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. He returned to Oregon last year to become executive director of the state Board of Pharmacy after serving as city manager in Takoma Park, Maryland. In Oregon, he had been deputy chief of staff for the Portland mayor, property and business development manager for Portland parks, and a member of the Commission on Black Affairs.

The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training ousted Brian Henson, who was deputy director/chief of staff/Operations Division director, and Staci Yutzie, deputy director/academy dean/Training Division director, as was first reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle and The Oregonian. Richard Daniel, defensive tactics coordinator, resigned. The three officials had been on paid leave since May. Director Phil Castle has named Bill Steele as deputy director. Chris Enquist, deputy director of the Training Division, continues as the unit’s interim director.

The Oregon School Boards Association has new leaders. The OSBA Board removed the “interim” tag from Executive Director Emielle Nischik, who joined the association last year as deputy executive director. The board chose local school board members Emily Smith, Helix School District, to be president-elect; Dawn Watson, Phoenix-Talent, vice president; and Chrissy Reitz, Hood River County, secretary-treasurer. Chris Cronin, Grant County Education Service District, will become president on Jan. 1, succeeding Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, Corvallis School District.

Christine Bader, who was Amazon’s first director of social responsibility, was appointed to the McMinnville School Board.