(May 3, 2024 – SALEM, Ore.) —Debbie Colbert and Kaitlin Lovell were selected as the two final candidates for the ODFW director position today during a subcommittee meeting that included two commissioners and two representatives from Governor Kotek’s office.
The two candidates will now advance to consideration before the full Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday, May 10, when the entire Commission will meet at ODFW Headquarters, 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SE, Salem.
Debbie Colbert is currently ODFW Deputy Director, Fish and Wildlife Programs.
Kaitlin Lovell is currently with the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.
Read more about the finalists in their bios.
Other finalists considered today were Shannon Hurn, ODFW Deputy Director for Administration and Jason Miner, former Natural Resources Policy Advisor for Governor Kate Brown. The subcommittee chose to limit the number of candidates advancing to the full Commission.
The Commission meeting on Friday, May 10 begins at 8 a.m.. After a public Q and A session with final candidates, Commissioners will hold an executive session pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(a) to interview them. They will later reconvene publicly and may select a new agency director at that time.
An online form remains available until May 7 at 5 p.m. for the public to submit questions they would like to ask final candidates during the public Q and A scheduled. On May 10, the form will reopen for public comment and reaction to the Q and A.
Motus Recruiting will ask a representative sampling of the questions during the Q and A. While there will not be time to ask the candidates every question received, input received through the online form will be shared with Commissioners in advance of their hiring decision.
Motus Recruiting and Oregon’s Department of Administrative Services have been managing the search for a new ODFW director. Approximately 30 people applied for the director position and 23 of them met the minimum qualifications.
Over the past month, a screening panel of Chair Wahl, Vice-Chair Hatfield Hyde, and a representative from the Governor’s office individually scored candidates based on attributes outlined in the Director Recruitment Plan. An interview subcommittee of the Chair and Vice Chair plus Geoff Huntington, Governor Kotek’s Natural Resources Policy Advisor, and Shana McConville Radford, the Governor’s Tribal Affairs Director, interviewed the final four candidates who were discussed today.
See the April Commission meeting agenda for more detail on the Director Recruitment Plan.
Fish and Wildlife Commission meetings are livestreamed via ODFW’s YouTube channel and at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/.
Reasonable accommodations will be provided as needed for individuals requesting assistive hearing devices, sign language interpreters or large-print materials for these meetings. Individuals needing these types of accommodations may call the ODFW Director’s Office at 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6044 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
