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CHEYENNE, Wyo.– 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.