Gov. Terry Branstad has appointed two women to high-level state positions. First, Roxann Ryan was named commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety this week, according to a release. Ryan had been serving as acting commissioner since Jan. 9, when Larry Noble retired. Ryan served in the criminal division of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office from 1980 to 2004. She joined the Iowa Department of Public Safety in 2006, where she has served as a criminal intelligence analyst, in-house counsel and administrative rules coordinator. Ryan taught criminal justice for two years at Simpson College. Branstad on Tuesday also appointed Beth Townsend as director of Iowa Workforce Development. Townsend had served as acting director since Jan. 11, when Teresa Wahlert resigned the position amid controversy over closing unemployment offices and allegedly interfering with the work of administrative law judges. Townsend previously was director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. She worked as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years. A reservist, Townsend retired in 2010 after nearly 21 years of service. Both appointments are effective immediately but must be confirmed by the Iowa Senate.