Leadership Staff

Portrait of Gilbert Davidson

Gilbert Davidson

Acting Director
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Gilbert is the Acting Director of ADOA as well as the Chief Operating Officer for Governor Ducey. Prior to coming to the State, he served in local government management for the cities of Marana and Willcox. He has also served as president of the Arizona City/County Management Association, served on the National Alumni Association Governing Board for the University of Arizona and currently serves on the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Directors.

 

Contact Information:

(602) 542-1623 or (602) 542-1327

 

Portrait of Kevin Donnellan

Kevin Donnellan

Deputy Director and Policy Advisor to Governor Ducey
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Kevin Donnellan serves as the Deputy Director as well as a Policy Advisor to Governor Ducey. Kevin oversees the direction of policy and operations of ADOA's Budget and Resource Management, Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology, Risk Management, the General Services Division, the Office of Grants and Federal Resources, and the Office of Continuous Improvement.

Prior to this appointment, Kevin served ADOA as the Acting Director and the Assistant Director of Administrative Services. Additional state government experience includes his role as the Acting Director for the Arizona Lottery and the Director of Communications and Government Affairs for the Office of the Arizona State Treasurer.

Kevin earned a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Arizona State University. He and his wife Andrea live in Chandler where they are raising their two children.

 

Portrait of Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson

Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson

Deputy Director
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Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson was appointed to Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Administration in May 2018. Ms. Alvarado-Thorson oversees the direction of policy and operations of the state’s General Accounting Office and the Human Resources, State Procurement and Benefits Services divisions.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Director of the Human Resources Division in charge of administering Arizona’s state personnel system of more than 33,000 employees since 2015. As the State Human Resources Director, she led the transformation of the HR Division to a more consultative organization while fostering strong partnerships with leadership in more than 100 state agencies, boards and commissions. Under her leadership, the Human Resources Division won the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) 2018 Award for Excellence in communications in government human resources.

From 2012 until her promotion to State Human Resources Director in 2015, Ms. Alvarado-Thorson was ADOA’s resident Chief Human Resources Officer at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, at which time the agency introduced leading edge business practices to instill a culture of continuous improvement throughout its ranks.

Ms. Alvarado-Thorson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Arizona State University, where she also minored in Psychology with an emphasis in Organizational Behavior. She also is a 2017 Flinn Brown Civic Leadership Academy Fellow. She and her husband Kevin live in Peoria with their two daughters, Jessica and Maria.

 

Portrait of Megan Rose

Megan Rose

Director of Statewide Communications
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Megan Rose is the Director of Communications for the Arizona Department of Administration. Previously, Megan work for Gordon C. James Public Relations for 16 years. She started out as an Account Executive and worked her way up to the Director of Media Relations. During her time at Gordon C. James Public Relations, Megan was chosen to work with clients such as First Lady Laura Bush, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Snickers, PetSmart, Food for the Hungry, ChildHelp, APS, Shea Homes, and the Maricopa Health Foundation. Megan has received one Silver Anvil award, three Copper Anvil awards, and ten Phoenix Merit awards.

Megan received her degree in Communications with a minor in Journalism from the University of Arizona. In her spare time, Megan serves as an advisor to the Board for “Smiles Beyond the Bars.”

 

Portrait of Nicole Ong Colyer

Nicole Ong Colyer

General Counsel
Chairperson, Governor's Regulatory Review Council
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Nicole Ong serves as the General Counsel, providing legal advice to the Director and for the Arizona Department of Administration, serving as the liaison to the Attorney General’s Office, and chairing the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council.

Previously, Nicole was a transactional attorney at DLA Piper, an international law firm, where she handled real estate transactions all across the country.  Prior to that, she was an attorney at Snell & Wilmer, a Phoenix-based law firm.  While her practice at Snell and Wilmer was concentrated in transactional work, she also practiced in a variety of commercial litigation matters.  She was recognized as one of the Southwest Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2014 and 2015.  Before joining private practice, Nicole clerked for a federal judge in Phoenix.

She is currently the President of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association and serves on the board of the University of Arizona Law College Association.  She actively served on the board of Sojourner Center, a local domestic violence shelter, and is now part of their emeritus board.

Nicole is an Arizona native, having been born and raised in Phoenix.  She received her bachelor’s degree in finance at the University of San Francisco and her law degree at the University of Arizona.

 

Portrait of Derik Leavitt

Derik Leavitt

Assistant Director, Budget and Resource Planning
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Derik Leavitt started working for the State of Arizona in 2001.  He began in the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budget(OSPB) and was there until 2004. He then became the Director of Fiscal Management Services for the Department of Juvenile Corrections and served until 2008. From 2008 to 2011, Derik was the Budget and Finance Administrator for the Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Department of Economic Security. He then spent five years working in the private sector as a health policy consultant with Burns & Associates. Derik's experience in both public and private sectors have afforded him an appreciation of utilizing data in daily operations to transform performance. He believes that great information is the foundation for great decisions.

Prior to coming to Arizona, he worked in city and county governments in the States of Washington and Utah. He received his Master's Degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University. He calls Avondale home with his wife Debbie and their four children.

 

Portrait of Morgan Reed

Morgan Reed

State Chief Information Officer
Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology (ASET)
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Morgan Reed joins the State of Arizona with nearly 20 years of information technology experience in large enterprises in the private sector.  As the State’s Chief Information Officer, he is responsible for driving the State of Arizona’s technology strategy and to transform government services.

Specializing in implementing new technologies, improving service delivery and driving change, Morgan brings a diverse background having managed nearly every area of information technology engineering and operations.

Prior to joining the State of Arizona, Morgan worked for local companies such as Go Daddy, Intel and Wells Fargo.  Most recently he led infrastructure delivery for Expedia, based in the Pacific Northwest.

Morgan holds a Bachelors degree in Business Operations from DeVry University, and is pursuing a Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management.  He and his wife and 3 children call Scottsdale home.

 

Portrait of D. Clark Partridge

Clark Partridge

State Comptroller
Assistant Director, General Accounting Office (GAO)
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Clark Partridge has been with the State of Arizona since joining the GAO as a supervisor in 1989. From 1992 to 1994 he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Commerce. He returned to GAO, serving as a manager from 1994 to 1998 and as Deputy State Comptroller from 1998 to 2001. After serving as acting State Comptroller for 8 months, he was appointed as State Comptroller in 2002. Prior to joining the State, he worked in public accounting for Arthur Andersen & Co. from 1986 to 1989. His experience from the public and private sector, as well as the agency and statewide perspectives, provides a variety of insights into operations and problem resolutions. Growing up on a dairy farm, he learned the importance of hard work, planning, and persistence. He is passionate about performance, customer service, process improvement and public service.

Clark is a member of various national professional organizations, serving as an officer and on several committees. He has been a volunteer with the March of Dimes for over 30 years, serving on the board in both Utah and Arizona. Clark attended Brigham Young University on a leadership scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Government Financial Manager. Clark enjoys spending time with his wife Cynthia, daughters Kayla and Lauren, and son Brantley, and is true blue BYU Cougar.

 

Portrait of Nola Barnes

Nola Barnes

Assistant Director, General Services Division
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Nola Barnes has management responsibility for facilities operations and maintenance, fleet management and surplus property as well as planning and construction services.

Prior to becoming GSD’s Assistant Director, Nola served for nine years as the General Manager of the GSD’s Building and Planning Services.  She previously worked at the Department of Economic Security for 14 years in both programs and operations positions.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and lives in central Phoenix with her husband Tom.  

 

Portrait of Matthew Hanson

Matthew Hanson

Director of Grants and Federal Resources
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Matthew Hanson currently serves as the Statewide Grants Administrator and Director of the Arizona Office of Grants and Federal Resources (GFR).  In this capacity he helps coordinate the pursuance and implementation of all federal grants allocated to the State of Arizona.  Prior to joining GFR, Matthew served as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Recovery and before joining the state served as the Intergovernmental and Grants Program Coordinator for the City of Goodyear.  Prior to relocating to Arizona he served as Director of the Grants Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.  

 

Portrait of Ginger LaBine

Ginger LaBine

Assistant Director, Human Resources Division
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Ginger LaBine is an accomplished global Organization Development leader and practitioner with extensive public and private sector experience in the design, development and delivery of integrated talent management, change management and Lean/continuous improvement solutions.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. LaBine served as State HR Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives.

She joined Arizona state service in October 2013 as a training and development professional at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and before that beginning in the late 1990s, she directed organizational effectiveness and development practices at The Mosaic Company of Plymouth, MN, and MDU Resources Group in Bismarck, ND. She also previously held similar HR and organizational development roles at Harley-Davidson and Mercury Marine.

Ms. LaBine holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Lakeland College, and separate Associate’s Degrees in Marketing and Commercial Art. Her professional memberships include the National Association of Personnel Executives, the Society for Human Resources Management, the American Society for Training and Development, and the Arizona Human Resources Executive Forum.

 

Portrait of Ray Di Ciccio

Ray Di Ciccio

State Risk Manager
Assistant Director, Risk Management Division
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Ray Di Ciccio was appointed as the State Risk Manager in July 2005. He previously served ten years as State Risk Management’s Finance and Insurance Manager. Prior to his State service, he spent six years as Internal Audit Manager for two major corporations, and seven years of diverse experience in corporate finance, financial reporting, accounting, audit and budget. Ray received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1982 and achieved a Certified Public Accountant designation in 1985.

Ray has statewide (including the three universities) management responsibilities for the following programs: Property, liability and workers’ compensation claims management, loss prevention, environmental remediation, risk financing, excess insurance and occupational health.

Ray is an active member in the State Risk and Insurance Management Association. Ray and his wife Hollie live in Gilbert, and have two sons.

 

Portrait of Ed Jimenez

Ed Jimenez

State Procurement Administrator
Assistant Director, State Procurement Office
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Edward (Ed) Jimenez was appointed to Assistant Director of the State Procurement Office in June 2018. Ed serves as the State's central procurement authority and is responsible for the authorization, oversight and management of the contracting and purchasing activities of the State.

Prior to his appointment, Ed was a Sr. Supply Chain and Procurement Consultant for Supply Chain Whisperer, LLC where he provided Supply Chain best practices and lean initiatives to Aviation and Aerospace industries, most recent being Frontier Airlines.

From 2009 to 2016 Ed was a Director of Procurement and Sr. Commodity Manager for Mesa Airlines and US Airways now American Airlines.  Ed was responsible for managing all aspects of the supply chain for direct and indirect purchasing i.e. material spend, warehouse, inventory control and materials contracts, including inventory forecasting, allocation strategies, scrap, obsolescence, inventory accounting and accuracy and overseeing all supplier support programs.

Prior to this, Ed worked 28 years for The Boeing Company and held several Executive Director positions with increasing responsibilities. He was responsible for all business unit subcontracts and procurement matters, including policymaking and implementation, subcontract oversight, program management, purchasing systems compliance, industry benchmarking and process improvements.  

Ed holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Commerce & Finance from Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Western International University in Phoenix, AZ. He is a Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), formerly known as the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM).  Ed was awarded the lifetime C.P.M. designation by ISM. 

 

 

Portrait of Paul Shannon

Paul Shannon

Acting Assistant Director, Benefit Services Division
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Paul Shannon serves as the Interim Assistant Director of the Benefits Services Division. Paul has over 30 years of government program experience, including service with the US Peace Corps, Northern Arizona University, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Arizona Department of Administration. From 2016 to 2018, Paul was the founding director of the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. Paul has direct oversight and responsibility for administering the benefits insurance programs for State and University employees and retirees.

Paul is a Phoenix native and earned his BS in Business Administration and a MA in Applied Sociology, both from Northern Arizona University.