Judge Roger L. Gregory is now the former chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court’s first Black judge and the first Black chief judge remains on the court, but handed off the role of chief judge earlier this month to Judge Albert Diaz, 63, who was the court’s first Latino judge in 2010.

He also is the first to lead the appellate court, which has 14 active judges of the 15 it is allowed. The court hears appeals from lower federal courts and administrative agencies that arise from litigation in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and North and South Carolina.

A 23-year veteran of the court, Judge Gregory served a seven-year term as chief judge and received high marks from legal scholars for his service. During his tenure, he, among other things, led the court in significant decisions that blocked development of two natural gas pipelines in the state after finding that requirements of federal environmental laws were not being met.

Most recently, the court challenged Congress’ ability to strip the appellate court of its jurisdiction over the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and that issue is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The change of command at the court is among the significant leadership changes that recently have taken place locally.

Others include the quiet departure of Reginald E. “Reggie” Gordon from the stressful City Hall job of overseeing people-helping operations.

He moved on this month to become president and chief executive officer of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, which provides health care grants.

Mr. Gordon had been the city’s deputy chief administrative officer for human services for five years. That job entailed overseeing the work of social services, justice services and parks, recreation and community facilities. He also oversaw city initiatives involving multicultural affairs and the elderly and disabled.

On his watch, staffing at social services deteriorated, and left the agency far behind in addressing applications for renewal or approval of food stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Aid for Needy Families. Other challenges also remained unmet, including a provision for year-round services for the homeless.

He was being paid more than $205,000 as DCAO. His salary at the foundation was not disclosed, but a foundation report indicated his predecessor was being paid $335,000.

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, has announced that Traci J. Deshazor, the city’s chief equity officer, has been promoted to DCAO for human services. She will continue to serve as chief equity officer while handling the DCAO duties.

Separately, Damon Jiggetts, who served as executive director of the Peter Paul Development Center in the East End for 11 years, is now the chief executive officer of the Henrico Education Foundation, a 30-year-old philanthropy group that supports the school system, including operating seven after-school learning centers.

He was paid approximately $122,000 at Peter Paul. His new salary has not been disclosed, but his predecessor was paid $94,000.

Sheila Hill-Christian, who has led various government agencies and is now a managing director at the executive recruiting firm Farenheit Advisors, is serving as interim executive director during the search for a replacement for Mr. Jiggetts. Peter Paul operates a variety of tutoring and education programs, primarily for children in the East End.