Idaho Business Review IBR
Niki Forbing-Orr
Chris Smith
Niki Forbing-Orr has been promoted to the position of public information manager of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Boise, after serving as public information officer for the state’s largest agency since 2012. Administrator Richard Armstrong made the promotion Feb. 22.
Forbing-Orr fills a position vacated by Tom Shanahan, who retired from the department Feb. 24 after 16 years. Forbing-Orr previously worked for newspapers in the Midwest and Idaho for 18 years, including 12 years in various roles for the Idaho Statesman newspaper. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
Replacing Forbing-Orr as public information officer for the department is Chris Smith, who was appointed by Armstrong Jan. 30. Smith was most recently strategic marketing manager for outbound communication at Micron Technology, Inc. He previously managed the Boise bureau of the Associated Press news service and was the Washington D.C. bureau chief for The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper.
