DHS lawyer, ex-attorney to join DWD

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A lawyer from the state Department of Health Services and a former attorney were recently appointed to leadership positions at the state Department of Workforce Development.

Department of Workforce Development Secretary-designee Caleb Frostman announced Monday that Pam McGillivray will be joining the DWD as chief legal counsel and Jesus Villa will be joining the DWD as equal rights division administrator.

McGillivray, who earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1999, comes to the DWD from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, where she worked as an attorney. She previously worked in private practice for more than 20 years and worked in employment law, civil rights, environmental law and utility law.

Villa, who earned his law degree from Duke University School of Law in 1998, joins the DWD from Northwestern Mutual, where he is lead employee relations consultant and equal employment opportunity officer. Villa was also previously a partner with the now-defunct Milwaukee firm of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan and an associate with Michael Best & Friedrich. Follow @erikastrebel