Gov 1-24-19
Governor Mark Gordon has appointed Jim Ruby as the director of the Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings and reappointed Del McOmie as the director of the Wyoming State Construction Department, Darin Westby as director of the Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Dr. Erin Campbell as the Wyoming State Geologist, Michael Reed as the State Fire Marshal, Diane M. Lozano as the Wyoming State Public Defender, and Tom Glause as the Insurance Commissioner of the Wyoming Department of Insurance.
“Coming from the Environmental Quality Council, Jim Ruby brings a wealth of legal experience to conduct fair and impartial contested case hearings,” Governor Gordon said. “I’m also very pleased to announce that Del McOmie, Darin Westby, Dr. Erin Campbell, Michael Reed, Diane M. Lozano, and Tom Glause have agreed to stay and be part of my Cabinet.”
The governor will announce more of his Cabinet next week. He is following the formal process for the appointment of the Wyoming Adjutant General and developing a stakeholder process to name the State Engineer and the director of the Wyoming Water Development Commission.
Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings
Ruby has served as the executive officer of the Wyoming Environmental Quality
Council since 2008. He replaces Peter Froelicher, who was appointed by Governor
Matt Mead to be a District Court Judge in Wyoming’s First Judicial District in
December 2018. Ruby served as the legal counsel for the Nebraska Legislature
for three years and Seward County Attorney in Nebraska for four years.
Wyoming State Construction Department
McOmie has served as the director of the State Construction Department,
overseeing the School Facilities Division and Construction Management Division
since 2016. He has served as chief engineer for the Wyoming Department of
Transportation, interim director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce
Services, and director of Wyoming School Facilities.
Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources
Westby has been the director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and
Cultural Resources since August 2016. Westby has over 24 years of experience in
the environmental, architectural, engineering, construction and management
fields. This includes twenty years in State employment and seventeen years with
the agency. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Wyoming, a Civil Professional Engineering license, and a certificate in public
management.
Wyoming State Geological Survey
Campbell has served as the State Geologist and director of the State Geological
Survey since being appointed to the position in 2017. She previously worked at
WSGS as the Manager of Energy and Minerals Resources. She is the first woman to
be named Wyoming State Geologist. Campbell has a B.A. in Geology from
Occidental College in Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of
Wyoming (UW). Prior to working at WSGS, she worked for Chevron and as a
lecturer at UW.
Wyoming State Public Defender
Lozano has served as the Wyoming State Public Defender since 2007. After 13
years as a trial attorney for the State of Wyoming Public Defender, she was
appointed the State Public Defender in 2007 by Governor Dave Freudenthal and
then reappointed in 2011 by Governor Matt Mead.
Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety
Reed has served as the Wyoming State Fire Marshal, heading up the Department of
Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety since 2016. Prior to that, he served as a
policy advisor for Governor Matt Mead. He spent 24 years in active law
enforcement, including twelve years as Chief of Police in Rawlins. He has
extensive training in law enforcement, fire inspection, arson investigation,
emergency management, and incident command. He also attended the FBI National
Academy and served as President of the Wyoming Sheriffs and Chiefs Association.
He is an active member of the International Association of Arson Investigators,
National and International Association of State Fire Marshals and has chaired
many committees.
Wyoming Department of Insurance
Glause has served as the Insurance Commissioner of the Wyoming Department of
Insurance since 2015. Prior to this, he served as vice chairman of the Wyoming
State Board of Equalization. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in accounting
from the University of Wyoming in 1984 and a law degree from the University of
Wyoming, College of Law in 1987. Glause is active in the National Association
of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) where he serves as vice-chairman of the
Financial Conditions Committee, secretary/treasurer of the Western Zone and is
the Whip for the Government Relations Leadership Council. Glause also serves as
President of the National Insurance Producers Registry.
ANNOUNCED APPOINTMENTS
On January 10, Governor Gordon announced his appointment of Lynn Budd as the director of the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and Leland Christensen as the deputy director and Mike Ceballos as the director of the Wyoming Department of Health. The governor also announced that the following three agency directors have agreed to stay: Todd Parfitt, director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ); Dan Noble, director of the Wyoming Department of Revenue; and Doug Miyamoto, the director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture.
Wyoming Office of Homeland Security
Budd replaces Guy Cameron, who is retiring. She has worked at the Office of
Homeland Security for the past eight years in a variety of positions. Prior to
that, she worked with her husband in the management of Red Canyon Ranch for the
Nature Conservancy for twelve years. She received her Bachelor’s degree in
Business Administration and was named the 2018 recipient of the Women of
Influence award for Government, Military and Law. She has served as a volunteer
for the Public Relations Committee of Cheyenne Frontier Days for over 25 years.
Christensen, a former Wyoming State Senator, served 15 years in the 19th Special Forces Airborne Army and the National Guard and worked in the Teton County and Lincoln County Sheriff’s offices for 20 years. Christensen was twice elected to the Teton County Board of Commission. He has volunteered for and served on a variety of local and state governing and non-governing boards including the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics, Salvation Army, Crime Stoppers and the Teton County Fair Board.
Wyoming Department of Health
Ceballos will replace Dr. Tom Forslund, who is retiring after this legislative
session. Ceballos brings a tremendous amount of corporate experience, retiring
as the Wyoming State President for Qwest Communications International in 2011.
His career began in 1980 under the AT&T Bell System and served customers in
the residential, business, public coin telephone, and wholesale markets.
Ceballos’s undergraduate education began at the University of Arizona and he
received a BSBA in 1980 from Northern Arizona University. In 1997, he received
an MBA from the University of Colorado. Currently, he is completing a doctorate
in Educational Leadership from the UW College of Education.
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Parfitt has served as the DEQ director since 2012. He has over 30 years of
experience in the environmental field, including 25 years with the DEQ. Prior
to becoming the director, Parfitt spent seven years as the DEQ Deputy Director
and as the Administrator of DEQ’s Industrial Siting Division. Parfitt has a
bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources, Fisheries Management and a master’s
degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Environmental Policy both
from The Ohio State University. He is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Wyoming and
was the President of the Environmental Council of the States in 2017-2018.
Wyoming Department of Revenue
Noble is the director of the Department of Revenue since 2013. Noble is a
graduate of the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting
and served in the U.S. Army from 1974 -1981 as a surgical technician. Before
entering government service, he worked in public accounting as a microcomputer
consultant for three years and spent several years as a Chief Financial Officer
of an ambulance company. Noble joined the Department of Revenue in 1998 as the
Administrator of the Administrative Services Division and was subsequently
appointed in March of 2000, as the Administrator of the Excise Tax Division.
Wyoming Department of Agriculture
Miyamoto has served as director of the Department of Agriculture since 2015. He
was recently elected President of the Western United States Agriculture Trade
Association. Prior to becoming director, Miyamoto served as the Executive
Director and deputy director of the Wyoming Livestock Board. Miyamoto earned a
Master’s Degree in Rangeland Ecology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Range
Management, both from the University of Wyoming. He has served as chairman of
the Natural Resource and Environment Committee of the National Association of
Conservation Districts of Agriculture since 2016.