Virginia “Ginny” Brannon, a natural resource and environmental expert, was appointed on Thursday as the director of the reclamation, mining and safety division in Colorado‘sDepartment of Natural Resources (DNR). She starts her new assignment on April 14. Brannon will replace Loretta Pineda, who is retiring after 33 years in the state division, including being director since 2009. Brannon has served as assistant director of DNR since 2010; before that she worked in other state agencies.