Lindsey Capps is stepping down as Gov. Brown’s senior education policy advisor
Monday, July 25, 2022
Lindsey Capps is moving on after more than seven years as Gov. Kate Brown’s top education advisor.
In a recent email to colleagues, Capps said he will be stepping down at the end of July as Brown’s senior education policy advisor, a vital position in effecting change for Oregon’s 553,000 students enrolled in K-12 public schools. Capps, who joined the governor’s staff in March 2015, will become director of federal relations at Oregon Health & Science University.
Efren Zamudio, who currently serves as Brown’s deputy education policy advisor, will take over for Capps as senior advisor on Aug. 1. Zamudio, who attended high school in Salem and graduated from Willamette University in 2019 after studying civic communications and media, joined the governor’s education staff last September.
In a LinkedIn post Monday morning, Zamudio confirmed the move, saying he would hold responsibility over “a dozen Governor-appointed boards and commissions, and the Education Recovery Committee of the Racial Justice Council.”
“For those who know me, you know the various roles I have held in Governor Brown's administration,” Zamudio wrote. “At every level, I have grown as a person and a leader, serving alongside passionate public servants managing a series of crises, delivering critical services, and advancing meaningful policies on behalf of Oregonians.
“For those who know me well, you know this wasn't easy,” Zamudio’s post continued. “You know my story and the remarkable journey that carried me here. I hope you also know that I would not be here without you, without a community of folks who have cared for me, pushed me, and been the ear or shoulder I turned to when times were tough. From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank you enough.”
Before working for the state, Capps spent seven years with Oregon’s teachers union, the Oregon Education Association. His tenure with the governor’s office coincided with the passage of the Student Success Act, the landmark legislation in 2019 that raised roughly $1 billion annually toward the state’s K-12 schools.
“It has been an incredible honor to serve as a policy advisor on education to Governor Brown,” Capps wrote in an email to colleagues. “I’m indebted to the Governor for the opportunity, and for her steadfast values, compassion and leadership through some of the challenging moments and transformative efforts in Oregon education.”
