Former Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has landed a new job at the Department of Natural Resources.

She will start next month as the deputy supervisor of resource protection and administration, said department spokesman Matthew Randazzo. That is the lead position over the resource protection division, he said.

Soon after leaving office at the end of 2011, Verner was named the CEO of Spokane Tribal Enterprises.

Verner's new job will take her to Olympia.

On her Facebook page, Verner wrote about her new job, but added: “Spokane will always be home.”

“It was an honor to advance exciting opportunities for the Spokane Tribe,” she said on Facebook. “Now I look forward to serving Washington State, beginning in early June.”

Before entering politics, Verner's career was focused on the environment and natural resources. She has a Master’s degree in environmental studies from Yale University. She was the director of natural resources for Spokane Tribe for about 10 years and the coordinator of enforcement for the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources from 1988 to 1990. Immediately before becoming mayor she was the executive director of Upper Columbia United Tribes, which is focused largely on environmental issues.

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