New governors across the U.S. make key cabinet appointments

As the new year ushers in a change of leadership, governors across the U.S. are making key cabinet appointments to shape their administrations. In Delaware, Indiana and North Carolina, newly elected leaders are assembling their teams to address the critical challenges facing their states. Here’s a look at the key appointments as these governors prepare to set their agendas for the upcoming term.

Delaware

On Jan. 21, Matthew Meyer was officially sworn in as governor of Delaware. Prior to winning the gubernatorial race, Meyer served as New Castle County Executive from 2017 up until his inauguration as governor.

As part of the transition of power between Meyer and former Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, the Delaware cabinet was completely restructured. While some leaders held onto their positions, most of the appointees are new to their respective roles. The following are a selection of the state’s new leaders:

Vanessa Phillips was selected as chief of staff. Phillips previously worked with Meyer in New Castle County, serving as chief administrative officer. Prior to joining the county, she was deputy secretary for the Delaware Department of Labor.

Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez will take over as secretary of state. Like Phillips, Patibanda-Sanchez previously served New Castle County as general manager of the Department of Land Use. She started with the county in February 2021 as economic development director.

Another New Castle County representative, Michael Smith, will be the state’s secretary of finance. Smith previously served as the county’s CFO for five years and its director of operations from August 2018 to January 2020.

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) will welcome Shanté Hastings as its next secretary. Hastings has been operating as the department’s acting secretary since Nicole Majeski’s resignation in December. Prior to her official appointment to the role, she served as DelDOT’s deputy secretary and chief engineer.

Cindy Marten has been chosen to serve as secretary of education for Delaware. She most recently served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, a role held since 2021. She also worked as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District for eight years.

Indiana

Mike Braun was sworn in as Indiana’s governor on Jan. 13. Before becoming Indiana’s 52^nd governor, Braun served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2019 to 2025, and as a representative for the 63rd district in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017. Here are some of the cabinet appointments made by Gov. Braun:

Josh Kelley was selected as chief of staff. Kelley previously served as Braun’s chief of staff in the U.S. Senate.

Jason Johnson and Jessica Wedgewood will serve as deputy chiefs of staff, the same position they held in Braun’s Senate office.

Lisa Hershman has been named Secretary of Management and Budget and Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Hershman is previously served as the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense, making her the highest-ranking woman to be confirmed to a Pentagon position by the Senate at the time.

Gov. Mike Braun has named Patrick Price as general counsel. Price previously served as general counsel for the State Budget Agency and special counsel for the Office of Management and Budget since 2019. He also served as general counsel for the Indiana Department of Revenue.

Dr. Katie Jenner has been named secretary of education. She previously served as the state’s secretary of education and will continue in that role. Jenner was appointed Indiana’s first secretary of education four years ago by former Gov. Eric Holcomb. Jenner will also serve as the head of the Department of Education.

Below is a list of Gov. Braun’s other appointments:

Steve Russo: Executive Director of the Indiana Public Retirement System.
Holly Lambert: Insurance Commissioner.
Lindsay Hyer: Executive Director of the Professional Licensing Agency.
Thomas Fite: Director of the Department of Financial Institutions.
Dr. Lindsay Weaver: Commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health.
Steve Cox: Director of the Indiana Broadband Office.
Dan Huge: Chairman of the Indiana Finance Authority.
Don Lamb: Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
Lloyd Arnold: Commissioner of the Department of Corrections.
Alan Morrison: Director of the Department of Natural Resources.
Kevin Garvey: Commissioner of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Mitch Roob: Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration.
Jake Adams: Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Fred Glynn: Executive Director of the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
Brandon Clifton: Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Administration.
Pete Miller: Executive Director of the Indiana Management Performance Hub.
Kent Abernathy: Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Adam Krupp: Director of the Department of Child Services.

Additionally, several cabinet secretaries will oversee multiple agencies:

Mike Speedy: Secretary of Business Affairs and head of the Department of Labor.
David Adams: Secretary of Commerce and head of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Suzanne Jaworowski: Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources.
Dr. Gloria Sachdev: Secretary of Health and Family Services.
Jennifer-Ruth Green: Secretary of Public Safety and Director of Homeland Security.
Matthew Ubelhor: Secretary of Transportation and Infrastructure.

North Carolina

Governor Josh Stein was sworn in as North Carolina’s 76th governor on Jan. 1. Stein served as North Carolina Attorney General from 2017 to 2025. Prior to that, he served as a state senator from 2009 to 2016. Gov. Stein has made the following key appointments to his cabinet:

Gabriel J. Esparza has been named Secretary of the Department of Administration. Esparza previously served as the Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and as a Commissioner on the Civil Service Commission. He is North Carolina’s first Latino cabinet member.

Leslie Cooley Dismukes has been named Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction. Prior to her appointment, she was the criminal bureau chief at the North Carolina Department of Justice. Dismukes previously served as chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and as an assistant district attorney at the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

Dr. Devdutta Sangvai has been named Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sangvai is a professor of family medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine. He previously served as president of Duke Regional Hospital and vice president for population health management at Duke University Health System. Sangvai is currently president of the North Carolina Medical Board and is the state’s first Indian American cabinet member.

Pamela Cashwell has been chosen as the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Prior to her appointment, Cashwell served as Secretary of the Department of Administration from 2021. She also served as Senior Policy Advisory and Chief Deputy Secretary for Professional Standards, Policy and Planning at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, as Assistant Director at the North Carolina State Ethics Commission and as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Cashwell is the first American Indian woman to serve as a cabinet member in North Carolina.

Gov. Stein also made the following appointments:

Gabriel J. Esparza: Secretary of the Department of Administration.
Lee Lilley: Secretary of Commerce.
Teena Piccione: Secretary and Chief Information Officer of the Department of Information Technology.
Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette: Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Eddie Buffaloe: Secretary of Public Safety.
Joey Hopkins: Secretary of Transportation.

Photo courtesy Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons