Dena E. Wiggins, a veteran proponent of natural gas industrial customers, is moving over to serve producers as president and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA). Wiggins was elected by the NGSA board of directors recently and will join NGSA in late February. “Dena is a recognized expert and champion of natural gas issues in the public and regulatory arena, as well as highly experienced in the association business,” said Greg Vesey, chairman of NGSA and vice president of gas supply and trading for Chevron. “Throughout her career, Dena has skillfully navigated the way to success for her positions, forming coalitions and achieving consensus as needed. That combination of knowledge and skill make her a great choice to lead NGSA.” Wiggins has been a longtime leader of the Process Gas Consumers (PGC) group, which was strongly allied with producers through deregulation and open access battles over the last 30 years. She will be leaving her career as a partner at Ballard Spahr law group in Washington, DC, and with the PGC. Wiggins succeeds Skip Horvath, who is retiring from NGSA this spring.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Saul Gomez and Robert Powell, who both assist the state’s Natural Resources Agency, to help implement SB 4, the new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) law. Gomez is a special assistant for oil, natural gas and geothermal resources, and Powell, a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, helped develop the fracking study. Gomez formerly headed the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has appointed Craig Butler as interim director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency after Scott Nally announced his resignation to pursue other opportunities. Currently, Butler serves as a senior policy advisor for the Kasich administration on environmental, energy, public utility and agricultural issues. Nally had served as agency director since 2010. Butler previously served as district director of both the Ohio EPA’s central district office and its southeast district office. Although the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, the Ohio EPA works closely with ODNR on any issues related to drilling and the environment.