Governor-elect Cox and Lt. Governor-elect Henderson announced 19 additional key cabinet and staff positions that will join the new administration. The appointees represent a range of diversity and bring both private and public sector experience to their new (and in some cases, continuing) roles.
Cedar Hills Mayor Jenney Rees will serve as the executive director of the Department of Administrative Services. This department includes the Division of Archives and Records, the Office of Administrative Rules, the Division of Facilities Construction and Management, the Division of Finance, the Transparency Advisory Board and more. Mayor Rees has municipal experience as both the mayor and previously, on the city council, as well as experience in the private sector as the chief of staff and director of healthcare information systems for MediConnect Global. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a Master’s of Public Administration.
Margaret Busse will serve as the excutive director of the Utah Department of Commerce. This division oversees Consumer Protection, Corporations & Commercial Codes, Occupational & Professional Licensing, the Office of Consumer Services, the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman, Public Utilities, Real Estate and Securities. Busse is a social impact and public policy advisor and has served as the Associate Director of the Social Enterprise Initiative at Harvard Business School. She has a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy and Economics and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Policy.
Casey Cameron, who has been a deputy director for the Department of Workforce Services since 2012, will become the new executive director. The Dept. of Worforce Services has been particularly busy with year, as they manage unemployement insurance for the state and collect economic data and perform research and analysis on Utah’s workforce. Their divisions also include Elibility Services, Housing and Community Development, the Office of Child Care, Refugee Services, the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation and Workforce Development. Cameron currently serves as the co-chair of the Intergenerational Poverty Commission. She has a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral health.
Jess Anderson will remain as the Commissioner of Public Safety, a position he has held since August 2018.Commissioner Anderson is responsible for the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), which consists of the Utah Highway Patrol, State Bureau of Investigation, State Crime Lab, Statewide Information and Analysis Center, Bureau of Criminal Identification, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Division of Emergency Management, Peace Officer Standards and Training, Driver License Division and Highway Safety Division. Anderson also serves as the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor and has extensive experience in state and local law enforcement. He has been promoted through all ranks of the Department of Public Safety during his career.
Brian Steed, PhD, will remain the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. His department includes the following divisions: Forestry, Fire and State Land; Oil, Gas and Mining; Parks and Recreation; Utah Geological Survey; Water Resources; Water Rights; and Wildlife Resources. He has served as the deputy director for policy and programs for the Bureau of Land Management, as a chief of staff in D.C., the deputy county attorney in Iron County as a professor at Utah State University. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Public Policy, a Juris Doctorate with an emphasis in natural resources and environmental law and a PhD in public policy.
Shelly Smith will become the Director of Boards and Commissions.There are 364 boards under her and multiple commissions. Smith enjoys engaging with her local community and has served in a variety of leadership roles in various organizations including the National Parent Teacher Association, Community Council, Ogden Breakfast Exchange Club, Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, Davis Chamber of Commerce and Ogden Rotary Club. She has a business certificate from Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College.
(to be continued)
