SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments: First, Robert Gower, 53, of Susanville, has been appointed warden at the California Correctional Center, Susanville, where he has served as acting warden since 2012. Gower served in multiple positions at High Desert State Prison from 2002 to 2012, including acting warden, chief deputy warden, correctional administrator, facility captain, correctional lieutenant and correctional counselor.
Gower held multiple positions at the California Correctional Center, Susanville from 1986 to 2002, including correctional lieutenant, correctional sergeant and correctional officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,668. Gower is a Republican.
Christopher Conlin, 53, of San Diego, has been appointed deputy director at the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division, Department of Parks and Recreation. Conlin was vice president of 3D Global Solutions Inc. from 2011 to 2012. He served as assistant chief of staff of operations at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Western Recruiting Region from 2008 to 2011 and was commanding officer of weapons and field training battalion at Camp Pendleton from 2006 to 2008. Conlin served at U.S. Joint Forces Command as deputy director, joint experimentation from 2005 to 2006 and director of multinational interagency implementation from 2003 to 2005. Conlin was commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines for the First Marine Division from 2002 to 2003 and director of Marine Corps training at the Pacific Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado from 1999 to 2002. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $114,024. Conlin is registered decline-to-state.
Michael Wells, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed undersecretary at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Wells has served in multiple positions at the California Military Department since 1991, including deputy commander of the Youth and Community Programs Task Force, director of manpower and personnel, chief of logistics, legislative liaison to the director of governmental and international affairs, plans officer and chief of environmental programs. He has also served as commander of the 223rd Infantry Regiment and Camp, San Luis Obispo since 2011. Wells was chief of intelligence at the joint force headquarters of the California Military Department from 2009 to 2011 and chief of intelligence operations at NATO headquarters in Sarajevo from 2008 to 2009.
Wells served as assistant chief of intelligence for the 40th Infantry Division at the Joint Training Base in Los Alamitos from 2006 to 2008 and commander of the 250th Military Intelligence Battalion at Camp Victory from 2004 to 2006. Wells served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1983 to 1991. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Master of Science degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $158,484. Wells is a Democrat.
Tam Doduc, 46, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board, where she has served since 2005. Doduc has held multiple positions at the California Environmental Protection Agency since 2000, including deputy secretary for environmental quality, assistant secretary for air and chemical programs, assistant secretary for agriculture and chemical programs and assistant secretary for technology certification. She was an air resources engineer at the California Air Resources Board from 1997 to 2000 and was special assistant to the secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 1995 to 1997. Doduc was a water resources engineer at the State Water Resources Control Board from 1994 to 1995 and was special assistant to the secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 1993 to 1994. She was a water resources engineer at the State Water Resources Control Board from 1989 to 1992. Doduc has been a registered professional civil engineer since 1995. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Doduc is registered decline-to-state.
Frances Spivy-Weber, 68, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board, where she has served since 2007. Spivy-Weber was a consultant to Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley in 2006 and executive director for policy at the Mono Lake Committee from 1997 to 2006. She served as director of international programs at the National Audubon Society from 1983 to 1992 and legislative assistant at the Animal Welfare Institute from 1978 to 1982. Spivy-Weber earned a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. Spivy-Weber is a Democrat.
David Livingston, 48, of Danville, has been reappointed to the California Boating and Waterways Commission. Livingston has been sheriff-coroner for the County of Contra Costa since 2011. He was chief of police at the Concord Police Department from 2005 to 2011 and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department from 2002 to 2005. He served in multiple positions at the Fremont Police Department from 1987 to 2002, including captain. Livingston is a member of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Livingston is registered decline-to-state.
Virginia Madueno, 47, of Riverbank, has been appointed to the California Boating and Waterways Commission. Madueno has been president of Imagen LLC since 2001. She served as mayor of the City of Riverbank from 2009 to 2012 and was a community organizer at Clean Water Action from 2009 to 2011. She served as a public information officer for Stanislaus County from 1981 to 2001. Madueno is a member of the Stanislaus County Family Justice Center and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Madueno is a Democrat.
Frank Damrell, 74, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Delta Stewardship Council. Damrell has been counsel at the law offices of Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy LLP since 2012. He was a judge at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California from 1997 to 2011. Damrell practiced law privately from 1968 until 1997 and served as deputy district attorney for Stanislaus County from 1966 to 1968 and deputy attorney general for the State of California from 1965 to 1966. Damrell earned a law degree from Yale Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,669. Damrell is a Democrat.
Governor Brown also announced the following changes to the State Water Resources Control Board. Both changes will become effective upon the retirement of Board Chair Charles R. Hoppin in April.
Dorene D’Adamo, 52, of Stanislaus, will be appointed to the Board. D’Adamo has been senior policy advisor for Congressman Jim Costa since 2013. She was senior policy advisor for Congressman Dennis Cardoza from 2003 to 2012 and was legal counsel for Congressman Gary Condit from 1994 to 2003. D’Adamo was a visiting instructor at California State University, Stanislaus from 1992 to 1998 and an associate attorney at the Law Offices of Perry and Wildman from 1992 to 1994. She was a policy consultant at Dee Dee D’Adamo Consulting from 1991 to 1992 and legislative director for Congressman Gary Condit from 1990 to 1991. D’Adamo was assistant legislative director at the California Youth Authority from 1988 to 1990 and legal counsel at the Assembly Committee on Public Safety from 1986 to 1988. She was legislative director for the Assembly assistant majority leader from 1985 to 1986. D’Adamo has served on the California Air Resources Board since 1999 and the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley since 2007. She earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,109. D’Adamo is a Democrat.
Felicia Marcus, 57, of Emeryville, will assume the position of Board Chair for the State Water Resources Control Board. Marcus has served on the State Water Resources Control Board since 2012. She was the western director for the Natural Resources Defense Council from 2008 to 2012 and was executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Trust for Public Land from 2001 to 2008. Marcus served as the regional administrator at the U.S. EPA Region IX from 1993 to 2001. She was commissioner and president at the Los Angeles Board of Public Works from 1989 to 1993. Marcus served on the Delta Stewardship Council from 2010 to 2012 and currently serves as an appointee to the Commission on Environmental Cooperation-Joint Public Advisory Council (US, Mexico, Canada). She earned a Juris Doctorate degree from New York Univeristy School of Law. The designation as chair does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $132,179. Marcus is a Democrat.
