Diana Dooley began her professional career as an analyst at the State Personnel Board. In 1975, she was appointed to the staff of Governor Jerry Brown for whom she served as Legislative Director and Special Assistant until the end of his term in 1983. Before becoming an attorney in 1995, she owned a successful public relations and advertising agency. Dooley left her private law practice in December, 2000 to accept the appointment as General Counsel and Vice President at Children's Hospital Central California near Fresno where she established an in-house legal services program and directed the Hospital's advocacy, communications and governmental relations programs. In 2010, Diana Dooley was appointed to lead the California Health and Human Services Agency by Governor Jerry Brown. As California’s designated State Unit on Aging, the California Department of Aging (CDA), which is nominally under the auspices of the California Health and Human Services Agency, has prepared the California State Plan on Aging, 2017-2021 with a focus on promoting the independence and well-being of older adults, adults with disabilities, and their families throughout the State. In three public hearings conducted to receive public comments prior to submission of this State Plan, CDA heard directly from older adults, persons with disabilities, family members, advocates, and providers about the unmet needs in their communities. Dooley is active in civic and community affairs, having served on the Boards of Directors of the UC Merced Foundation, Blood Source of Northern California and The Maddy Institute at California State University, Fresno.