Darren Nichols hasn’t found much down time recently.
Before leaving his most recent job with the state of Oregon in December, Nichols was already in Washington, D.C., serving on the White House Council on Environmental Quality. That commitment continues until Feb. 24.
Three days later, it’s back to the Northwest for Nichols’ next venture. He starts as full-time executive director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission on Feb. 27.
A vacation between jobs? Not quite.
“There really wasn’t much of a transition,” Nichols said.
Nichols, 40, takes over the Gorge commission post from Jill Arens, who stepped away last month after more than five years at the helm. He comes most recently from Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development, where he worked extensively with planning and management issues. Nichols said he hopes to translate those skills to help the commission, which oversees land-use decisions and policy in the six Gorge counties.
Nichols won’t be starting from scratch when he joins the commission full-time at the end of this month. He’s been working with staff and appointed commissioners part-time since January, gathering a better sense of their interests and priorities. Nichols has also taken advantage of his time in Washington, D.C., rubbing elbows and making connections with federal officials and both states’ congressional leaders before heading back, he said.