Sally Collins was selected as both the associate chief for natural resources in the Forest Service and the agency’s chief operating officer. Previously those two positions had been staffed separately.

From April 2000 until her recent selection for this position Collins served as the Forest Service’s associate deputy chief for national forest systems. She worked as the forest supervisor on the Deschutes National Forest, headquartered in Bend, Ore., from 1993-2000, after having been its deputy forest supervisor from 1990-93. From 1987-90 she was a staff officer for lands and minerals on the Deschutes National Forest. She began her career with the Forest Service as an assistant forest planner on the Siuslaw National Forest in Corvallis, Ore., in 1983.

Collins worked for the Bureau of Land Management at its Colorado State Office in Denver for five years from 1978-83. This included service as a mineral leasing coordinator from 1982-83, an environmental coordinator from 1981-82, and a wilderness specialist from 1978-80.

A native of Ames, Iowa, Collins holds a B.S. degree in outdoor recreation from the University of Colorado and a Master of Public Administration degree, with an emphasis in natural resource management, from the University of Wyoming.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero, the previous FS associate chief for natural resources, served in that position from May 1999 until August 2001 and is now director of FS’s Pacific Southwest Research Station in Albany, Calif. Phil Janik, the previous FS chief operating officer, served in that position from April 1999 until August 2001 and is now director of the Wildlife, Fish, Water, and Air Research Staff for the agency. ¤