The head of a key agency in Oregon announced she was stepping down last month, prompting some musical chairs among top bureaucrats.
In February, Oregon Department of Administrative Services Director Berri Leslie said she planned to resign in June to spend more time with her family. The Department of Administrative Services oversees many of the other state agencies, acting as the state’s human resources department.
Oregon’s Capitol building in Salem, Ore., Dec. 12, 2024.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Gov. Tina Kotek announced on Thursday she will replace Leslie with Betsy Imholt, who currently oversees the Department of Revenue. Imholt served as the chief of staff for the former Senate President Peter Courtney for years before leaving to oversee the revenue office in 2020.
That left an opening in the Department of Revenue office, which will be filled by David Gerstenfeld, who has served as the head of the Oregon Employment Department. He’s overseen the Employment Department since 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time when the agency came under intense scrutiny for making people wait for long periods to claim their unemployment benefits. Gerstenfeld was a top official in the department for years before that. He previously led two divisions, including the Unemployment Insurance Division.
If you’re still following along, that left an opening at the Employment Department, and Andrew Stolfi, currently the director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, will fill that role. Stolfi has also been at the consumer and business services agency since 2020. The governor’s staff said the vacancy left by Stolfi will be a recruited position.
Kotek said in a statement her focus since taking office in 2023 has been “on improving customer service, transparency and accountability across state government.”
“The changes I am announcing today will help the state tap into existing leadership and bring fresh perspectives to getting things done,” the governor said in a statement.
There have been other agency heads who have departed under Kotek. Early in her tenure, Kotek informed the heads of the Oregon Lottery and Office of Emergency Management that they would not be a part of her administration. That same year, Kotek also fired the former head of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Last week, Kotek announced she was firing Joe O’ Leary, the longtime director of the Oregon Youth Authority, after the agency came under scrutiny for a backlog of mishandled abuse reports.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify the roles previously held by David Gerstenfeld. OPB regrets the error.
