Premier announces senior executive appointments

Premier Roger Grimes today announced appointments to senior public service positions in government.

Following are a list of appointments:

Barbara Knight is appointed as deputy minister responsible for the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada. Ms. Knight moves from her position as deputy minister of the Department of Works, Services and Transportation.

Don Osmond is appointed deputy minister of the Department of Works, Services and Transportation. Mr. Osmond moves from his position as assistant deputy minister (Works) of that department.

Weldon Moores is appointed assistant deputy minister (Works) of the Department of Works, Services and Transportation. Mr. Moores moves from his position of cabinet officer in Executive Council.

Gerald Galway is appointed assistant deputy minister (Planning and Educational Programs) of the Department of Education. Mr. Galway moves from his position as assistant deputy minister (Post-Secondary Education) of the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education.

Rachelle Cochrane is appointed assistant deputy minister (Post-Secondary) of the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education. Ms. Cochrane moves from an assistant deputy minister position in the Department of Human Resources and Employment.

Wayne Penney is appointed assistant deputy minister (Policy, Planning and Labour Market Development) of the Department of Human Resources and Employment (HRE). Mr. Penney moves from his position as director of the Income Support Division with that department.

Jennifer Jeans is appointed assistant deputy minister (Client Services) of the Department of Human Resources and Employment. Ms. Jeans moves from her position of assistant deputy minister (Strategic Social Plan).

Alison Earle is appointed assistant deputy minister (Strategic Social Plan). Ms. Earle moves from an assistant deputy minister position in the Department of Human Resources and Employment.

All appointments become effective today.

Media contact: Karen McCarthy, Communications, (709) 729-4781.

BIOGRAPHIES

Barbara Knight
Barbara Knight has 28 years experience in the Newfoundland and Labrador public service, the majority of which has been spent in senior advisory roles to Cabinet. She served five years as a director of programs in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat, eight years as assistant secretary to Cabinet for Intergovernmental Affairs, two years as assistant secretary to Cabinet, Planning and Resource Policy in Executive Council and in 1995 became secretary to Cabinet for Intergovernmental Affairs. In January 1998 she was appointed deputy minister of the Department of Government Services and Lands. Since February 2000, Ms. Knight has served as deputy minister of the Department of Works, Services and Transportation. Ms. Knight has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Health Sciences Complex and the Health Care Corporation of St. John�s. She holds a master of arts in political science from the University of Toronto and a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Memorial University.

Don Osmond
Don Osmond spent most of his early career with the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation where he held various posts, including: site manager, Mount Pearl New Town Development; director, Metro Development Division; director, Marketing and Sales Division; executive director, Development (Technical Services and Marketing); and finally as executive director, Business Development. Since then, he has been with the Department of Works, Services and Transportation where he has served as assistant deputy minister (Corporate Services) and most recently assistant deputy minister (Works). Mr. Osmond has lectured at Memorial University's School of Business, and has worked as a civil engineer. He holds a masters of business administration, a bachelor of medical science and a bachelor of engineering (civil), all from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Weldon Moores
Mr. Moores began his career in the public service 25 years ago as a resident engineer. Since that time he has held a number of posts within the public service including manager of equipment with the Department of Works, Services and Transportation, director of occupational health and safety with the Department of Employment and Labour Relations and senior director, regional and support services with the Department of Government Services and Lands. Most recently, he was a cabinet officer with Executive Council. In these capacities he has represented the province on a number of federal/provincial/territorial committees including the Provincial/Territorial Committee on Building Standards, the Council of the Hazardous Materials Review Commission, and the Standing Committee, Transportation of Dangerous Goods. He is a professional engineer and holds bachelor of engineering (civil) and master of business administration degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Gerald Galway
Gerald Galway began his career in the education system in 1978 as a mathematics and science teacher. Over the years he has held a number of teaching and research positions in the school system and at Memorial University. He came to government in 1990 as an evaluation consultant with the Department of Education, and has held various management positions including manager of Educational Indicators, director of Corporate Planning and Research and assistant deputy minister (Advanced Studies). In 1999-2000 he served as the executive secretary to the Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom. In 2001 Mr. Galway was appointed assistant deputy minister (Post-Secondary Education) with the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education and recently chaired the Student Aid Review Advisory Committee. Mr. Galway holds a Master of Science (Medicine) from Memorial University, as well as bachelor's degrees in Education and Science, also from Memorial. He is currently completing a Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies from the University of South Australia.

Rachelle Cochrane
Rachelle Cochrane began her career in government as a labour market analyst in the Department of Education. Over the years, she has served in various roles including manager, Policy and Program Research in the departments of Employment and Labour Relations and Education, project director in the Department of Environment and Labour, and director, Social Policy, Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat. Ms. Cochrane held the position of assistant deputy minister in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat and most recently served as assistant deputy minister in the Department of Human Resources and Employment. Ms. Cochrane holds a bachelor of arts in economics and business from Memorial University.

Wayne Penney
Wayne Penney began his career in the public service in 1974 as a social worker with the Department of Social Services and has progressed through the public service in various management positions including regional manager of the Labrador and Eastern regions. Since 1997, Mr. Penney has held the senior management position of director of Income Support in the Department of Human Resources and Employment. Mr. Penney is a graduate of Memorial of University of Newfoundland with bachelor of arts and a bachelor of social work degrees.

Jennifer Jeans
Jennifer Jeans has worked in the public service for nearly 22 years. For the past four and a half years she has worked as an assistant deputy minister (ADM) in the Women's Policy Office, the Department of Human Resources and Employment and most recently as ADM for the Strategic Social Plan (SSP) where she was responsible for leading the implementation of the SSP, a key government social policy initiative. She spent 11 years as both a senior analyst and a director (acting) in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat, where she provided senior level policy monitoring, analysis and advice in a wide range of resource, social and economic policy areas. She also worked for one year on secondment to the former Department of Social Services, where she was the senior analyst responsible for managing that department's strategic planning process. She has been a policy analyst in the Cabinet Secretariat where she was responsible for providing advanced planning, policy development, evaluation support and advisory services to the Cabinet, its policy committees and departments in the area of social policy. Ms. Jeans has a bachelor of arts in anthropology from Memorial University.

Alison Earle
Alison Earle has more than 20 years experience in the provincial public service. She held a number of management positions in both human resources and organizational development with the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board Secretariat. From 1993 to March 1997, she served as director, Youth Employment and Career Services, Department of Development and Rural Renewal, where she was responsible for all career development services. In 1997, she took a brief leave of absence and worked as a senior manager with KPMG Consulting. In 1998, she returned to the public service as assistant deputy minister, Programs and Regional Services with Human Resources and Employment. She has a master of arts and bachelor of arts from Memorial University.

2002 04 15                       10:30 a.m.