Pa. Senate confirms Shapiro admin nominees to lead Labor & Industry, DDAP

The Pennsylvania Senate confirmed two Shapiro administration nominees for key cabinet positions on Wednesday. 

The Senate voted to confirm the nominations of Nancy Walker as secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry in a 49-1 vote, and Dr. Latika Davis-Jones as secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in a unanimous vote. 

Walker, who previously served as the first Chief Deputy Attorney General of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Fair Labor Section, said she was “deeply grateful” for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nomination and the full Senate’s approval. 

“It is a tremendous honor to lead L&I in serving the people of Pennsylvania,” Walker said.“I am inspired every day by the determination and creativity of the L&I team to create meaningful change and promote the growth of our workforce and economy. We have accomplished a lot in the past five months – the updates we’ve implemented to the UC system have us on track to clear the entire claims backlog in August and by prioritizing labor law enforcement, we are better protecting workers across Pennsylvania. I look forward to building on this progress as we continue working to deliver for all Pennsylvanians.”

Davis-Jones, who is the first person of color to lead DDAP, said in a statement that “it is a privilege to serve the commonwealth.”

“It is a true honor [to] be [the] first person of color to lead the Department,” Davis-Jone said. I am excited to continue working in close collaboration with substance use disorder treatment and prevention providers, Single County Authorities, communities, people with lived experience, and advocates to move the Governor’s vision for our commonwealth forward.”

Davis-Jones has 25 years of experience in behavioral health and substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery expertise and is the former Single County Authority Administrator for the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.