Vicki Walker
Agency Director
Vicki Walker is the Director of the Department of State Lands. She oversees administrative responsibilities for the State Land
Board and directs the operations and policies of the agency. Agency-wide legislative
coordination, human resources, policy development and communications work is housed in the Director's Office. The DSL
Director also oversees the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Walker served as the Oregon State Director for the
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development from November 2009 to January
2017. While at USDA, Walker oversaw the investment of $4.8 billion for more
than 24,000 projects that helped rural Oregonians. Projects included helping
low-income rural residents purchase and repair homes; building or maintaining
200 low-income apartment complexes; and assisting 900 rural businesses expand
operations.
Before her
work at the USDA, Walker served for ten years in the Oregon Legislature (2003
to 2009) where she was a member of the Ways and Means Committee, overseeing
budgets for natural resource and public safety agencies.
Walker was chair
and later administrator of the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison
Supervision in 2009, and for 25 years she operated her own court reporting
firm. She received a B.S. from the University of Oregon, and also attended Lane
Community College.
Bill Ryan
Deputy Director for Operations
Aquatic Resource Management Program
The Aquatic Resource Management Program conserves and protects waters of the state and public access to state-owned waterways. The program has four core functions: 1) regulating removal-fill activities in waters of the state; 2) managing mitigation programs, including mitigation banking and payment-in-lieu programs; 3) managing the state’s aquatic resource planning program; and 4) issuing authorizations for use of and overseeing navigable waterways to protect public trust rights.
Real Property Program
The Real Property Program staff, mostly located in the Bend Field Office, oversee implementation of DSL’s Real Estate Asset Management Plan, as well as agency land sales, exchanges, authorizations and planning. Bend Field Office staff perform annual rangeland inventories on 30,000 of the more than 600,000 acres of rangelands to collect data relating to vegetation types, soil types and general rangeland health conditions.
Jean Straight
Deputy Director for Administration
Business Operations and Support Services Program
The Business Operations and Support Services program is responsible for DSL’s agency-wide support functions, providing accounting, budget, clerical support, and information technology services. The program also provides oversight of DSL-managed funds, audits and properties. It includes the following sections: Information Technology, Finance, and Support Services.
The Deputy Director for Administration also oversees the agency’s Key Performance Measures and budget development.