LANSING — Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer announced a large batch of cabinet appointments Thursday, including the key person who will carry out her primary campaign promise to “Fix the Damn Roads.”

Paul Ajegba, a 28-year employee of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), will lead the agency that Whitmer hopes will be able to invest billions of dollars into the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity to lead the department and help carry out one of her main campaign goals, which is to fix the roads,” said Ajegba, who started at MDOT in the engineering development program and rose to become metro region engineer. “With 28 years of experience, I bring a lot of knowledge to this issue.”

Another key appointment — Liesl Eichler Clark — will lead the state Department of Environmental Quality, which has been buffeted over the last four years by the Flint water crisis, in which the city, under the direction of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The improperly treated river water caused water lines to leach lead into thousands of homes and businesses in the city.

Eichler Clark is the co-founder and partner of 5 Lakes Energy, a policy consulting firm. She also has served as president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council and as deputy director for energy programs at the Michigan Department of Energy Labor and Economic Growth.

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“My background uniting food, energy, and water is really an important intersection for the work that we have to do for the state,” she said. “I look forward to bringing my 20 years of experience in both the policy and business world to bear in supporting state officials and state employees as they turn a page and move forward.”

She faces a department that has been rocked by criminal charges, filed by the Attorney General’s office as a result of the water crisis.

“My approach is very much collaborative and communicative. I don’t have all the answers,” Eichler Clark said. "But there is a lot of fantastic state employees and a lot of really important expertise and knowledge in that department. The game plan from day one is to do a whole lot of listening and do a whole lot of understanding of what the challenges have been.”

Whitmer said her one of her primary goals was to appoint a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the state and the 10 appointments she announced Thursday was a reflection of that.

“The second wave of this cabinet that we’ve assembled truly brings an incredible level of experience and expertise,” she said during a call with reporters. “During my campaign, I frequently reiterated my commitment to have a cabinet that really reflects the diversity of the state. … That’s going to be critical to our success. This cabinet is going to be focused on health, safety, and well-being of our citizens.”

Other appointments:

Department of Natural Resources: Daniel Eichinger of Lake Isabella, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Michigan State Police: Captain Joe Gasper of Grand Rapids, who first joined the MSP in 1998 and currently serves as the emergency manager for the department.

Department of Corrections: Heidi Washington of East Lansing will continue as the director of the department.

Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Brigadier General Paul Rogers, currently the deputy commander of the 46th Military Police Command who also was the battalion commander of the 507th Engineer Battalion in 2005 when the unit was deployed to Iraq.

Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs: Orlene Hawks of Okemos, who is currently the director of the Office of Children’s Ombudsman. She also managed the Quality and Program Services section in the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Department of Insurance and Financial Services: Anita Fox, a lawyer from Okemos who has a specialized in litigating a wide range of business and insurance issues.

Office of the Children’s Ombudsman: Lisa McCormick of Grand Ledge, who has worked in the Ingham County Prosecutor’s office.

Whitmer is expected to make more staff and cabinet announcements on Friday and will be sworn into office on New Years Day.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.