Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon has tapped a former member of a U.S. Senate task force on Latino affairs as his minority-affairs officer. Philip Bernal, who worked to establish higher-education outreach programs in Utah while serving on multiple advisory boards, helps complete the hires for the mayor's office. Corroon rounded out his staff with Jackie Murphy and Ann Ober, who will serve in community relations posts. The Los Angeles-born Bernal supervised a public affairs detachment and served a stint in Bosnia during his 26-year career as an Army reservist. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in management from the University of Utah. In 1992, he wrote a monthly column for The Salt Lake Tribune on topics including diversity, gender equality and higher education. Bernal, who will earn $50,000 for the new county job, headed the county sheriff's citizen advisory board and served on the board of the Salt Lake Rape Crisis Center. He also was on the Utah Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council for four years and was president of the Utah Coalition for the Advancement of Minorities in Higher Education. - Derek P. Jensen