SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has announced the following appointments Aug. 27-28, 2018: First, Todd R. Bland, 56, of Elk Grove, has been appointed assistant director of the Automation, Integrity, and Client Initiatives Branch at the California Department of Social Services, where he has been deputy director of the Family Engagement and Empowerment Division since 2011.
Bland served in several positions in the Health and Human Services Section at the Legislative Analyst’s Office from 1995 to 2011, including analyst, senior analyst, principal analyst, section director and deputy legislative analyst. He was a project manager at Economic and Planning Systems from 1990 to 1995 and a performance auditor at the Office of the Auditor General from 1989 to 1990. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,188. Bland is registered without party preference.
Kimberley Johnson, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of the Family Engagement and Empowerment Division at the California Department of Social Services, where she has served as chief of the CalWORKs and Child Care Branch since 2017 and was a branch chief of child care and refugee programs from 2015 to 2017. She was a public policy director at the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network from 2012 to 2015 and a program manager at the City College of San Francisco, California Early Childhood Mentor Program from 2009 to 2012. Johnson was a director of programs and training at Parent Services Project Inc. from 2007 to 2010 and a director of child care and development programs at the Children’s Network of Solano County from 1999 to 2007. She is a public policy member at Child Care Aware of America. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $156,360. Johnson is a Democrat.
Susan B. Myers, 56, of Wilsonville, Oregon, has been appointed chief counsel at the California State Lottery. Myers has been an adjunct professor at the Willamette University College of Law since 2018 and senior manager and corporate counsel at the Lam Research Corporation since 2017. She was an adjunct professor at Chapman Law School in 2016. Myers was director and associate general counsel at Hyundai Capital America from 2012 to 2016, senior corporate counsel at Kia Motors America Inc. from 2008 to 2012 and managing counsel for international operations at Toyota Financial Services from 1998 to 2006. She was counsel of structured finance at Mayer Brown LLP from 2006 to 2008, where she was associate of transactional and corporate finance from 1988 to 1991. Myers was associate of government contractors at McKenna, Long and Aldridge LLP from 1991 to 1998. She is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Myers earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,188. Myers is a Republican.
Appointments Announced Aug. 27:
James Robertson, 61, of Crescent City, has been appointed warden of Pelican Bay State Prison, where he has been acting warden since 2017. Robertson served in several positions at Pelican Bay State Prison from 2001 to 2009, including classification and parole representative, correctional counselor supervisor and correctional counselor. Robertson served in several positions at the California Correctional Institution from 2016 to 2017 and from 1994 to 2001, including chief deputy administrator, correctional sergeant and correctional officer. He was a correctional administrator at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2014 to 2016 and served in several positions at San Quentin State Prison from 2009 to 2014, including associate warden, facility captain and correctional counselor. Robertson served in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1977. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $154,308. Robertson is a Democrat.
Robert Neuschmid, 54, of Folsom, has been appointed warden at California State Prison, Solano, where he has been acting warden since 2017 and was chief deputy warden from 2015 to 2017. Neuschmid was an associate warden at Folsom State Prison from 2013 to 2015, where he served in several positions from 1987 to 1991, including warehouse manager and correctional officer. He served in several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2007 to 2013 and from 1995 to 1997, including acting assistant deputy director of the Division of Adult Institutions and correctional administrator. Neuschmid was correctional business manager at Mule Creek State Prison from 2005 to 2007, where he was a procurement and services officer from 1998 to 2005. He was warehouse manager at California State Prison, Sacramento from 1994 to 1995. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $154,308. Neuschmid is a Republican.
Kimberly Seibel, 53, of Elk Grove, has been appointed associate director of the Reception Centers Mission at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where she has been acting associate director since 2018. Seibel was warden at Deuel Vocational Institution from 2016 to 2018 and at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison from 2015 to 2016. She served in several positions at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility from 1999 to 2015, including chief deputy warden, associate warden, captain, lieutenant and sergeant. Seibel was a correctional officer at California Correctional Institution, Tehachapi from 1994 to 1999 and an office assistant at California State Prison, Sacramento from 1993 to 1994. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $161,928. Seibel is a Democrat.
Amika Mota, 40, of Oakland, has been appointed to the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Mota has been prison reentry director at Young Women’s Freedom Center since 2015. She was a legal assistant at California Traffic Defenders from 2015 to 2016, lead engineer and firefighter at Madera County Fire Station 5 from 2012 to 2015 and assistant director at the Andaluz Waterbirth Center from 1999 to 2005. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mota is a Democrat.
Vanessa Najar, 20, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Najar has been a peer mentor at the Puente Project at Sacramento City College since 2017. She was a canvasser at United Latinos in 2016, peer mentor at Luther Burbank Library in 2016, project committee member at La Familia from 2015 to 2016 and office assistant at St. Anne’s Parish from 2015 to 2016. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Najar is a Democrat.
