DCBS Media Release

May 2, 1996
For more information:
Steve Corson, 503-947-7868

Consumer information, customer service drive appointments at DCBS

(Salem) – Department of Consumer & Business Services Director Kerry Barnett has announced two new staff appointments central to fulfilling the department's on-going commitment to customer service, public information, and responsive regulatory reform.

Former Portland school board chair Roby Roberts has been appointed executive assistant to the director of DCBS for communications, and Marcia A. Martin has joined the department as its new insurance consumer advocate.

Roberts was most recently government and regulatory affairs manager and project manager for KENETECH Windpower, Inc., in Portland. He was previously a policy analyst for the Northwest Power Planning Council and a classroom teacher for Portland Public Schools. In 1981 he was a legislative assistant for then-State Senator John Kitzhaber, and in 1983 was a committee administrator with the Oregon House of Representatives. From 1991 to 1995 Roberts held elected office as a member and chair of the board of education for Portland Public Schools. He has also served on many other civic and community boards and commissions. He holds a bachelor's degree and certification in elementary education from Lewis & Clark College, and has also studied at the University of Stockholm, in Sweden.

Martin was previously executive officer for the Oregon Commission for Child Care, where her duties included advocacy, policy development, and legislative coordination. Before that, she worked for 14 years in the insurance industry, beginning as a claims representative and examiner for Allstate Insurance and Viking Insurance and rising to claims supervisor and services manager for SAIF Corporation from 1985 to 1992. Martin holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa and an associate's degree in management from the Insurance Institute of America.

Both Roberts' and Martin's appointments followed open recruitment processes.

DCBS administers state laws and rules governing workers' compensation, occupational health and safety, real estate appraisal activity, building codes, and the operation of insurance companies and financial institutions. The department also regulates securities and franchises, and provides statewide leadership on energy policy and conservation.