Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has completed his cabinet by nominating Karin McGowan as executive director of the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment. This is Johnston’s last remaining open cabinet position and comes close to one year after he was inaugurated as Denver’s mayor.

McGowan’s appointment is still subject to approval by the Denver City Council, which will vote on it later. As of Thursday, May 23, the City Council agenda was not published, so it is unclear when the vote will happen.

Johnston and staff from the mayor’s office highlighted McGowan’s “years of experience managing public health and environmental crises.” She spent over a decade at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, most recently serving as agency executive director. Since then, she served on the Energy and Carbon Management Conservation Commission, appointed by Gov. Jared Polis, before being tapped by Johnston to serve the city.

“Throughout her career, Karin has stewarded equitable public health and environmental outcomes across Colorado and knows how to deliver strong and healthy communities,” Johnston said in a news release. “We conducted a thorough and meticulous search for this position because we knew we wanted a candidate with world-class talent, and we found exactly what we were looking for with Karin.”

During her tenure at CDPHE, McGowan tackled issues like the legalization of marijuana, the 2015 Gold King Mine spill and the statewide COVID-19 response, the news release said.

In addition to her work as an appointed member of state government, McGowan was the director of policy development and communications for the Denver Regional Council of Governments. The regional council of governments is a multi-city and town group of governments which functions as a regional planning commission, focussing on transportation and mobility, growth and development and aging/disability resources, according to their website.

McGowan’s nomination delivers on Johnston’s stated promise to appoint a diverse cabinet representing “the breadth of the Denver community,” the release said.

“Mayor Johnston has hired a group of appointees that are majority people of color, who collectively bring a wide variety of viewpoints and experiences to move forward the city’s mission of creating a safe, vibrant, and affordable Denver,” the release said.

McGowan was not quoted.