Sandoval Announces More Appointments, Names Press Secretary

(NN&V Staff) – Governor-elect Brian Sandoval announced today that Ann Wilkinson, currently Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Henderson, will be Deputy Chief of Staff in Sandoval’s administration. Mary-Sarah Kinner will be Press Secretary.

Wilkinson previously served under Sandoval in the Attorney General’s Office as Assistant Attorney General from 2002-2005.

“Ann has a long career in public and private sector positions, in both Northern and Southern Nevada, and I know she will be an asset to my administration,” Governor-elect Sandoval said.

Kinner served as Communications Director during the Governor-elect’s successful campaign. Prior to joining Sandoval’s campaign, Kinner was Deputy Press Secretary for the Ranking Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in Washington, D.C.

“Mary-Sarah shares my belief that providing information to the public will help restore their confidence in state government,” Governor-elect Sandoval said.

Sandoval also announced he plans to retain three additional Cabinet directors from the Gibbons Administration:

• Susan Martinovich, Director of the Department of Transportation,
• Larry Mosley, Director of the Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation, and
• Mike Willden, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“These three departments will be critical to the future of our state and I’m pleased to provide continuity by asking Susan, Larry and Mike to join my team,” Governor-elect Sandoval said. “They share my vision for where Nevada needs to head.”

Martinovich has worked for the Nevada Department of Transportation for more than 26 years, where she began as a rotation engineer. Appointed as Director in January 2007, Martinovich is actively involved in the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and was recently elected as the association’s first female president.

Larry Mosley was appointed Director for the Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation (DETR) in July 2007. Prior to his appointment, Mosley served as the Director of Diversity for the College of Southern Nevada.

Mike Willden has served as Director of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) since July 2001. Prior to his appointment, Willden was the State Welfare Administrator. Willden holds a degree in Business Administration from Southern Utah University.