November 20, 2008

Deputy Transition Directors to Lead Personnel Search, Conduct Agency Reviews

Gov.-elect Jay Nixon's Transition Team Announces Leadership Structure

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov.-elect Jay Nixon’s Transition Team today finalized its leadership roster with the announcement of seven Deputy Transition Directors and the Director of Transition Recruitment. These highly qualified individuals from the governmental, business and non-profit sectors will oversee the search for senior personnel in various state agencies and conduct detailed reviews of executive departments and budgets.

The Deputy Directors and Director of Transition Recruitment will report directly to Transition Director Charles Burson and work closely with Transition Co-Chairs Nadia Cavner, Phillip Snowden and Ronnie White.

"We’ve worked quickly to assemble a panel of leaders from government, non-profits and business who will help Gov.-elect Nixon build the team he needs to move Missouri forward," Mr. Burson said. "Under Gov.-elect Nixon’s leadership, our transition team will seek out the best and brightest Missourians from every corner of the state to serve in key positions in executive agencies and departments. From the beginning, Gov.-elect Nixon has said this transition will be inclusive, transparent and smooth. By reaching out to communities across Missouri, these key leaders will play a key role in making sure that happens.”

Gov.-elect Jay Nixon’s Deputy Transition Directors

The Hon. Judith W. Baker
State Representative, District 25

State Rep. Judy Baker will coordinate the search for senior leaders at the Department of Health and Senior Services, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She brings an extensive background in both health care management and education to the transition team. A former health care administrator, Rep. Baker has served as Director of Operations at Capital Region Medical Center and as interim Executive Director of University Physicians in Columbia. Since 2002, she has been a management partner with Cura Advantage, a consulting firm that helps health care systems improve services and financial outcomes. From 2003-2006, Rep. Baker also was an adjunct professor of managerial economics at Columbia College. She has served in the Missouri House of Representatives since 2005. Rep. Baker earned a bachelor’s in educational psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1981; a master’s in divinity from Southern Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.) in 1986; and a master’s in health care management and informatics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002. A resident of Columbia, Rep. Baker, 48, and her husband, John, have three children: Sarah, Lauren and David.

Mr. Daniel A. Burkhardt
Managing Director, Oakwood Medical Investors

Mr. Dan Burkhardt will oversee the search for key personnel in the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration and the Department of Higher Education. A former captain in the Missouri Army National Guard, Mr. Burkhardt has an extensive background in economic and investment analysis. From 1972 to 1978, he worked in the Office of Economic Research at the Missouri Public Service Commission. He left the Public Service Commission to become a general partner in the investment banking division of Edward Jones. Following his retirement from Edward Jones in 2006, Mr. Burkhardt was named managing director of Oakwood Medical Investors. Mr. Burkhardt earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Lincoln University in Jefferson City in 1969 and an MBA in finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1975. Mr. Burkhardt and his wife, Connie, reside in St. Louis. He has three grown children and one stepdaughter.

The Hon. Margaret Donnelly
State Representative, District 73

State Rep. Margaret Donnelly will serve as one of two Deputy Directors for Agency Review. She and Rep. Jeff Harris, of Columbia, will perform a detailed analysis of state agencies to ensure that all the executive departments are operating as efficiently, effectively and responsibly as possible. They will also lead the search for key personnel at the Department of Natural Resources. An attorney for more than 20 years, Rep. Donnelly was elected to the Missouri State House of Representatives in November 2002. Prior to her election to the House, Rep. Donnelly was involved in numerous civic and governmental organizations in the St. Louis area, including the Ferguson-Florissant School Board, the Board of Commissioners of the METRO Bi-State Development Agency, the Regional Airport Governance Task Force and Beyond Housing. She is a member of the Missouri Bar Family Law Section, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Women Lawyers’ Association, and she chaired a commission to establish the first domestic violence shelter in St. Louis County. Rep. Donnelly earned a master’s in social work in 1977 and a juris doctorate in 1988, both from St. Louis University. She and her husband, David Riedel, reside in Richmond Heights. They have two children: Julia and Adam.

The Hon. Wayne Goode
Former State Senator, District 13

Former State Sen. Wayne Good will serve as Deputy Transition Director for Budget Review. In this position, Sen. Goode will conduct a thorough analysis of the state’s budgetary condition, advise Gov.-elect Nixon on all fiscal and appropriations matters and aid in the preparation of the administration’s first budget package. When he retired from the General Assembly in January 2005, Sen. Goode was one of the state’s most senior legislators. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1962, Sen. Goode chaired numerous committees, including the Education and Appropriations committees in the House and the Appropriations and Commerce and Environment committees in the Senate. Most notable in Sen. Goode’s career was the host of vital legislation he sponsored, including the 1996 telecommunications law, the 1994 campaign finance reform bill, the public education funding formula, the omnibus mental health code, the omnibus solid waste bill, the hazardous waste law and the first revision of the state’s guardianship code since 1821. During his first term in the House, in 1963, Sen. Goode successfully sponsored the legislation establishing the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Sen. Goode and his wife, Jane, reside in St. Louis. They have two children. He earned a bachelor’s in banking and finance from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1960. In 2006, the University of Missouri-St. Louis honored Sen. Goode with a doctor of laws, honoris causa.

Dr. Jon Hagler
Former Chief of Staff to the Speaker, Missouri State House of Representatives

Dr. Jon Hagler, of St. James, will serve as Deputy Director for Legislative Liaison and oversee the search for key personnel in the Department of Agriculture. Dr. Hagler, who maintains a small farm near St. James, formerly served as Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the Missouri State House of Representatives. He also was director of corporate relations for the Missouri University of Science & Technology (then the University of Missouri-Rolla) and director of government affairs and external relations for California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. Dr. Hagler continues to serve as president of Leadership Now, LLC, a leadership consulting company, and he has lectured on the subjects of government and leadership for numerous groups and organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Truman State University (then Northeast Missouri State University), a master’s in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a doctorate in the same subject from Washington University in St. Louis.

The Hon. Jeff Harris
State Representative, District 23

State Rep. Jeff Harris will serve as one of two Deputy Directors for Agency Review. He and Rep. Margaret Donnelly, of Richmond Heights, will perform a detailed analysis of state agencies to ensure that all the executive departments are operating as efficiently, effectively and responsibly as possible. They will also lead the search for key personnel at the Department of Natural Resources. Rep. Harris, 44, of Columbia, was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2003. He served as House Minority Leader from November 2004 to September 2007; he was House Minority Whip from November 2003 to November 2004. Prior to his election to the House, Rep. Harris was an Assistant Attorney General and head of the Attorney General’s Governmental Entities Unit from 2001 to 2002. He was an attorney with the Bryan Cave law firm in Kansas City from 1992 to 2001. Rep. Harris earned his bachelor’s from Vanderbilt University in 1987 and his law degree from the Cornell Law School in 1991. He completed a senior executive program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 2005. He and his wife, Katie, have one daughter, Grace.

Mr. Garry Kemp
Business Manager and Executive Secretary, Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council

Mr. Garry Kemp will oversee the search for key personnel in the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Department of Corrections. Mr. Kemp began his career in the construction industry in 1969 as a member of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers. He became President of Local 27 in 1977, and in 1988, he was elected Business Manager. In 1996, Mr. Kemp was elected Business Manager and Executive Secretary of the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, representing 22 area craft unions. He continues to hold that position today. Currently, Mr. Kemp is on the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Construction Excellence, Regional Transit Alliance, Community Blood Center, Labor Management Council of Greater Kansas City, Kansas City (Kan.) Chamber of Commerce, Missouri State Building Trades Council, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City, and the Missouri State AFL-CIO. He is the Supervisory Committee Chairperson for the United Labor Credit Union and a member of the Tenth District Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Mr. Kemp and his wife, Sue, make their home in Lee’s Summit.

Director of Transition Recruitment

Ms. Susan B. McCollum
Founder and President, McCollum and Associates

As Director of Transition Recruitment, Ms. Susan McCollum will lead the transition team’s outreach efforts in communities across the state. Ms. McCollum will work closely with the Deputy Transition Directors to recruit a broad-based applicant pool and ensure that every application submitted is accurately processed and thoroughly reviewed. Ms. McCollum brings more than 20 years of marketing, communications-planning and management experience to Gov.-elect Nixon’s transition team. In 1994, she founded McCollum and Associates, a strategic marketing and communications consulting company in St. Louis. Prior to founding her company, Ms. McCollum was director of public information at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where she oversaw the Bank’s communications and public affairs efforts throughout a seven-state region. Before joining the Bank, Ms. McCollum worked for The Boasberg Company, a Kansas City public relations firm, and she also served as Director of Media Relations for The American University in Washington, D.C. Ms. McCollum is an active member of the St. Louis community, serving on the St. Louis Zoological Park SubDistrict, the Zoo Board of Trustees, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Board, the Regional Housing and Community Development Association Board and the New City School Board of Trustees. She earned an MBA and undergraduate degrees in broadcast journalism and economics from The American University. Ms. McCollum resides in St. Louis with her husband and two sons.

Gov.-elect Jay Nixon’s Transition Team Staff

In addition to the Deputy Directors and Director of Transition Recruitment, Gov.-elect Jay Nixon’s transition team today announced the staff members who will support this important project:

• Karen Bagby, Transition Staff
• Nancy Johnston, Director of Operations
• Chris Moreno, Transition Staff
• Sam Murphey, Press Secretary
• Judy Murray, Transition Staff
• Melissa Palmer, Transition Staff
• Oren Shur, Communications Director