Leadership Team

Cindy Casaus, Interim Director, Arizona Registrar of Contractors
Assistant Director, Operations | Chief of Communications | Agency Ombudsman

Interim Director Cindy Casaus serves as the Assistant Director of Operations for the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Cindy joined AZ ROC in 2018 as the Chief Financial Officer and Operations Services Manager and took on the role of Chief of Operations and Communications in July 2021. In February 2023 she was promoted to Assistant Director of Operations and as of July 2023 is the AZ ROC Interim Director; the first woman in Agency history to assume this role.

In addition to overseeing the Agency's operations, outreach, communications and financial operations, Cindy serves as the Agency Ombudsman. Prior to joining the AZ ROC, Cindy served in leadership roles at the Greater Phoenix Chamber, the foremost member-driven business association in Arizona and a privately owned critical power and data center design and build company based in Arizona.

A third generation Arizonan, Cindy earned a B.S. in Accountancy from the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business and resides in Ahwatukee with her husband David and daughter Adeline.

For media inquiries, please email Media@roc.az.gov.

Emily Verdugo, Assistant Director, Regulatory Affairs
Legislative & Government Liaison | Tribal Liaison

Emily Verdugo is the Assistant Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Arizona Registrar of Contractors; she is also responsible for overseeing the agency’s legislative agenda, tribal and government relations, and DEIA. Emily has a passion for helping organizations operate more efficiently and effectively, and she brings a wealth of experience to her role.

Prior to joining the Registrar of Contractors, Emily worked mainly in the non-profit sector overseeing federal programs and working with a variety of organizations focused on social justice. She also has 15 years of experience in government, managing relationships between the non-profit sector and government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

Emily was born in Ajo, Arizona, and raised in Pinal County. Supporting and promoting rural Arizona is one of her professional priorities. She prioritizes promoting safe and ethical construction practices and advancing public policy that promotes economic growth and social justice.

Emily holds two Bachelor's degrees in History and Political Science from Arizona State University and is currently finishing a Master's degree in Public Administration also at Arizona State University. She resides in Tucson with her two sons, Court & Jackson.

Jeff Wills, Chief of Investigations

Jeff Wills began his construction career in 1999 working as a third-party inspector for Motorola at their Chandler, AZ location within their clean room and fabrication facilities. A short time later, he moved on to Intel Corporation inspecting clean room stainless steel piping and connections for microchip production.

In 2001, Chief Wills went to work for a large national homebuilder in the Phoenix-area as a Warranty Customer Service Representative and within a few years he was afforded the opportunity to supervise the customer service department as the Director of Warranty Customer Service.

In 2005, he was asked to oversee the warranty customer service department and their JD Power rating system of a competing national homebuilder. As with many in the industry, though, due to the economic downturn during that time, he was forced to change gears and in Oct. 2007 Chief Wills went to work for AZ ROC as an Inspector. While there, he performed numerous jobsite inspections as well as working on other projects within the agency. In Dec. 2012, he was promoted to Assistant Chief of Inspections supervising 18 Construction Inspectors statewide.

In late-summer 2013, Chief Wills returned to the national homebuilding scene accepting the position of Special Projects Construction Manager. In this position, he oversaw and managed class action lawsuit repairs, difficult construction situations and day-to-day homeowner and contractor interaction.

Knowing Chief Wills' public and private experience, he was asked to return to AZ ROC to serve as the Chief of Compliance in March 2015. In this position, Chief Wills and his staff are tasked with ensuring all licensed contractors are performing work in a professional and workmanlike manner; adhering to the rules and regulations set forth by the State of Arizona. Chief Wills and his staff also ensure unlicensed entities operating outside of statute and state law are penalized and cited within the boundaries of Contracting Without a License.

Contact ROC Unlicensed Investigations staff at ComplianceDepartmentULE@roc.az.gov.
Contact ROC Construction Investigations staff at ComplianceDepartmentLic@roc.az.gov.

Chance Peterson, General Counsel