Diana S. Dooley (Law ’95) is now the Executive Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. The position is the top administrative post in state government and effectively makes her the governor’s chief of staff.
Prior to this appointment, Dooley served as California Secretary of Health and Human Services for seven years and chaired the board of Covered California, which oversees the federal health care reform law in California. Before her move to Sacramento in 2011, Dooley was president and chief executive officer of the California Children’s Hospital Association from 2006 to 2011, and general counsel and vice president of Valley Children’s Hospital from 2000 to 2006.
In her new position, she serves “at the pleasure of the Governor,” meaning the job will end as Governor Brown leaves office next year. She says she had intended to retire a while back, but Brown asked her to stay on and take over the post after the passing of Nancy McFadden who previously held the position, saying that “we need to finish strong.” Dooley and Brown first worked together 43 years ago, when she took on the post of Special Assistant and Legislative Director back in 1975. She says her Valley roots offer a perspective grounded at the local level, in contrast to Brown’s background as Mayor of San Francisco.
As for goals in office, Dooley points to Brown’s inaugural address in 2011, when he said California has conditions to be addressed, but the problems will not be solved. Those “conditions” include health care, where Dooley points to the five million Californians who now have health care, but didn’t five years ago. Still, she says there is work to be done in that area, including access. As for the whole list, which also includes poverty, affordable housing, and income inequity, Dooley says “Each year, we make down payments in addressing that list.”
The Hanford native is well-known for her commitment to the Valley, serving over the years on the Executive Committee of the U.C. Merced Board of Trustees, the Maddy Institute Board of Directors, and the California Historical Society Board of Trustees. She is also a past president of Planned Parenthood, the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, and the Central California Futures Institute. In addition, San Joaquin College of Law is grateful for the many times Dooley has served as an inspiration and role model for students considering law school, exemplifying the diverse opportunities afforded by a law degree. She was inducted into the San Joaquin College of Law Alumni Hall of Fame in 2013.
What does the future hold for Dooley? Her new position ends at midnight on January 6, 2019, as the new governor takes office. She would like to take a pause to “refresh and reflect” before she decides “if there is a next chapter.” She might be interested in continuing some of her work on health care reform, “but not as a fulltime job.” As for right now, she is telling her friends she intends to “go 4-F” when her current position ends. She says that means concentrating on four things: “family, friends, fitness, and fun.”