Juliann Sum has been appointed by Governor Brown as chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Sum has served as acting Cal/OSHA chief since September 2013. Prior to that, she was a special advisor to Christine Baker, director of the state’s Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees Cal/OSHA.

“I am grateful for the opportunity as division chief to maintain and enhance safe workplaces and practices for workers and employers in California,” says Ms. Sum. “We will continue to consistently enforce Cal/OSHA standards, develop new standards based on scientific data and practical experience, and collaborate with labor and management organizations.”

In 2014, Ms. Sum established a hiring task force to facilitate filling Cal/OSHA vacancies and enabling senior staff at the division to mentor new hires before retiring. She has also strengthened the training of field staff and managers, providing them with core classes in accident investigation, citation writing, case review and legal appeals. During her tenure as acting chief, Ms. Sum also initiated efforts to encourage more immediate correction of workplace safety hazards. Last month she led the division’s effort to finalize and publish specific guidance to protect workers in healthcare settings from exposure to the Ebola virus and other infectious diseases.

Ms. Sum, who joined DIR in 2012 as special advisor, was designated acting chief in September 2013. Previously, she served from 1994 to 2012 as project director with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, and attorney and industrial hygienist with the Labor Occupational Health Program.