The Board of Supervisors, at its Sept. 13 meeting, concurred with the County Executive’s appointment of Rosa Vega as Coroner, effective Sept. 25.
“Ms. Vega’s appointment was the result of extensive national and community engagement outreach and a comprehensive qualifications review and interview process,” said Eric Jones, Deputy County Executive for Public Safety and Justice. “We are fortunate that Ms. Vega’s enthusiasm, education and expertise identified her as the best and most qualified candidate. We look forward to welcoming her to Sacramento County.”
Vega has nearly 20 years of experience working for a Coroner’s/Medical Examiner’s Office. She currently serves as the Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Investigator for the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office. Prior to her promotion to that position in 2016, she served for many years as a Medical Examiner-Coroner Investigator.
Her experience also includes serving as the Office’s professional liaison to several external agency stakeholders, such as local law enforcement agencies, funeral homes, hospitals and the District Attorney’s Office. Vega also has experience leading high-profile incident investigations and creating Santa Clara County’s Mass Casualty Plan.
In addition, Vega serves as a part-time Lecturer for a Death Investigations Course that she created for San Jose State’s Justice Studies Department. Before that, she was an instructor for the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium with the Robert Presley Institute of Criminal Investigation.
Vega has a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice with a Minor in Physical Anthropology from San Jose State and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration with a concentration in Forensic Science Administration from Loyola University New Orleans. She also possesses an American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) Diplomat Certification, a POST Certification 832(a), and a Forensic Identification Certificate. She has been a Certified Death Investigator since 2005.