WSIA

On March 6th, L&I Director Joel Sacks announced to stakeholders that Governor Bob Ferguson has appointed Ciara High as the Acting Ombuds for Injured Workers of Self-Insured Employers, succeeding the former Ombuds (and WSIA alumna) Donna Egeland, who retires from that position today after nearly ten years of service. The Ombuds office was created by the Legislature in 2007 as an independent office that handles concerns brought by workers about their workers' comp issues, and provides an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on their activity and recommendations. The Ombuds is appointed by the Governor and serves a six-year term. Ciara will be handling the unexpired portion of the current term, while the Governor considers the appointment of a permanent Ombuds. From the announcement:

Ciara currently serves as the senior staff member of the Ombuds team for the past seven years. Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington, a Washington Claims Administrator Certification, and has had formal Mediator training through the Washington Mediation Association. Ciara has been intimately involved in the Office’s strategic planning, developing and implementing legislative policy, and developing workers’ compensation policies and procedures. She has been an integral team member in the Ombuds Office providing supervision of one Program Specialist 4 and two Workers’ Compensation Adjudicator 5 positions.