Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) today announced that Rodrigo Diaz is the new executive director of the agency.
Additionally, the Board announced that Doug Hitz is the agency's new deputy executive director, and Jason Worley is the new chief counsel of the PLCB.
Rodrigo Diaz has been with the PLCB for 31 years, serving most recently as the agency's chief counsel, from 2016 through 2023, and acting executive director. Since joining the PLCB, he has served as assistant counsel, legislative counsel, and deputy chief counsel. From 2008 through early 2016, Diaz served as executive deputy chief counsel, directly overseeing all legal functions in the agency. During his career, Diaz has represented the PLCB before numerous tribunals, including Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in cases involving significant issues like liquid fuels and alcohol sales by supermarkets. He has been instrumental in drafting PLCB regulations and representing the agency before the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. Diaz has drafted numerous legislative proposals ultimately enacted into law and has provided testimony in legislative hearings involving the beer distribution system. Diaz has served on the faculty of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, where he taught liquor licensing matters, and he has planned and moderated panels for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) and the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA). He also serves on the executive board of NCSLA as 3rd vice-president. A cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science at Yale University, Diaz lives in Carlisle with his wife, Sara Meng, Ph.D. and two sons, Christopher and Elijah.
In the deputy executive director role, Hitz will be responsible for strategic planning, cross-functional management of agency level projects and initiatives, and policy development for the PLCB. He has more than 18 years of Commonwealth service, spending more than 17 of those years at the PLCB. Before being named to his new position, Hitz served in various management roles with the PLCB. From 2016 through 2023, he served as the director of Wholesale Operations where he led a team-building policy, process, and programs to implement the changes required by Act 39, which allowed for the sale of wine to go by Wine Expanded Permit holders, such as grocery and convenience stores. From 2009 to 2016, Hitz, a Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), served as director of the Bureau of Planning & Procurement within the Office of Supply Chain. There, he was instrumental in implementing a vendor-managed inventory program and directed product forecasting, purchasing, and replenishment among a network of 300+ vendors, three distribution centers, and the entire network of Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores. Hitz' previous positions with the PLCB include store replenishment manager, where he stabilized and improved business processes and technology, and change management lead. Prior to working for the Commonwealth, he worked in customer service and sales. Hitz is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), and many fraternal organizations. He earned his master's degree from Shippensburg University and his undergraduate degree at Millersville University. Hitz and his wife live in Susquehanna Township and are proud parents of a daughter who attends Penn State University (University Park Campus).
Jason Worley has been with the PLCB since 2010, serving most recently as deputy chief counsel and acting chief counsel. Prior to that, Worley served in various roles within the agency's legal office, first as an assistant counsel and later as a deputy chief counsel, with supervisory responsibilities. Worley has appeared before numerous administrative tribunals, including PLCB-appointed hearing examiners, the state Board of Claims, the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, the state Civil Service Commission, the Pa. Human Relations Commission, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Most recently, Worley's primary areas of practice for the PLCB have focused on employment-related matters, legislative and regulatory drafting and review, Right-to-Know Law matters, and agency-related special projects. Prior to joining the PLCB, Worley served as a law clerk to the Honorable Renée Cohn Jubelirer of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania; before that, he was an assistant counsel for the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Board of Review. He is a graduate of the Widener University School of Law (Harrisburg) and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University, where he majored in political science and minored in labor and industrial relations.
The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates about 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling nearly $20.3 billion since the agency's inception – are returned to Pennsylvania's General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania's schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov.
MEDIA CONTACT: Shawn M. Kelly, 717.303.8522
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