By: Cindy Gonzalez
Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen on Thursday announced an interim director for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development: Maureen Larsen, who currently serves as the governor’s general counsel.
Larsen, who earned her law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law, also serves as Pillen’s deputy director of policy research. The policy division serves as the governor’s personal lobbying arm.
She is to transition from her current role July 21, replacing K.C. Belitz, whose resignation was announced suddenly last month after serving two years on the job. Belitz’s final day as DED director is July 18.
Larsen earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.
The DED director has been a rather high-profile position, overseeing grants and funding for economic development ventures and attending related ribbon-cuttings for projects across the state.
Larsen’s general counsel and policy research position has been more behind the scenes. She was quoted in a 2023 Flatwater Free Press story about an apparent unprecedented move by the Pillen administration to shield the governor’s communications.
Larsen, in a response to the news outlet’s request for email, said certain communication of the governor was “protected by executive privilege” or “deliberative process privilege,” the FFP reported.
Several former and current officials and advocates told the FFP they couldn’t recall any other Nebraska governors invoking that privilege to deny access to records.
Pillen’s media statement thanked Belitz for his service. It did not indicate when a permanent DED director might be named.