(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced transitions of executive leadership in the Cabinet and appointed positions.
Charon Hines, Acting Director – Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL)
Charon Hines is appointed Acting Director of the Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL). Director Hines has over two decades of administrative, constituent service, community engagement and education experience service as a teacher and administrator at schools and civic associations throughout the Washington metropolitan area. She currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Chancellor at the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), where she leads projects geared at innovation and best practice sharing and supports strategic projects that will eliminate barriers to student achievement. Prior to joining DCPS, Director Hines serve as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs (MOCA), overseeing 10 constituent service offices which serve as the essential connection between District of Columbia residents and the Executive Office of the Mayor.
Heather McGaffin, Acting Director – Office of Unified Communications (OUC)
Heather McGaffin is appointed Acting Director of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Director McGaffin began her public safety career when at the age of sixteen she became a volunteer EMT with her local fire department and rescue squad. She has 20 years of public and private sector experience in the public industry, including as field responder and public safety communications expert. In 2005, Director McGaffin joined the Calvert Control Center in Calvert County, Maryland as a 911 call taker, working through the ranks as a dispatcher, shift supervisor, trainer, manager and eventually Deputy Director. From 2015 – 2020, she served as a consultant for a national public safety firm where she led projects to help emergency operations centers, localities, and state governments in restructuring, training development and implementation, and Next Generation 911 implementation. Director McGaffin joined OUC in October 2020 as the Chief of Special Operations and Investigations and became the Deputy Director in February of 2022.
Jennifer Porter, Director – Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG)
Jennifer Porter is appointed as Director of the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG). Throughout her career, Director Porter has served as a clinical researcher, patient advocate, project director and administer of programs in local, regional and national community service organizations that support and empower women. From 2010 to 2019, she worked in government relations and adolescent health advocacy at Children’s National Health System. There, she advocated for legislation, health policy and community resources that improve the health and wellbeing of our nation’s youth. Director Porter also served as a clinical researcher focused on a range of adolescent sexual health issues including economic influences of medical adherence for HIV positive adolescents, structural barriers to HIV prevention for youth and pregnancy prevention outcomes. In 2019, Director Porter was appointed Executive Director of the Mayor's Office on Women’s Policy and Initiatives (MOWPI) serving as the chief advocate for women and women’s issues and building with nonprofit organizations and public agencies to address the needs of women.