Salem, OR – The Department of Consumer and Business Services recently appointed Sally Coen as the Workers’ Compensation Division (WCD) administrator, effective Aug. 1.
Coen has served as deputy director of the division for the past five years and has been acting administrator since November 2019.
“For more than 30 years, Sally has dedicated her career to Oregon’s workers’ compensation system,” said Andrew Stolfi, director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), the state’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. WCD is a division of DCBS. “She understands the importance of supporting both employees and employers through our workers’ compensation system and her decades of experience will serve Oregonians well.”
Coen began as the Investigations and Sanctions manager with WCD in 1998, and then became the Audit manager in 2005 and the Performance Section manager in 2014, before being promoted to deputy director in 2016.
“What’s really important to me is that WCD’s contributions to the workers’ compensation system in Oregon support both injured workers and employers,” said Coen. “Workers’ compensation is known as the ‘grand bargain’ between workers and employers, and our actions need to support that foundation. I think of our role as being an advocate for the system so that it protects both parties.”
This year marks the 30-year anniversary of Oregon’s workers’ compensation reform. Coen has been with WCD for that transformation. The reforms have resulted in Oregon going from one of the highest premiums in the nation and a system not meeting the needs of injured workers to consistently having one of the lowest premiums and implementing new systems to provide for injured workers.
“We have an exemplary Workers’ Compensation Division in Oregon. Over the past 30 years, we went from one of the most troubled programs in the nation to one of the most respected and copied,” said Coen. “I am proud that my career has been part of this amazing transition that lead to better care for injured workers and lower premiums for businesses in Oregon.”
Coen serves in her hometown of Independence as a planning commissioner for the city. Coen has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Willamette University.
Source: OR WCD