SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments for Feb. 7 — first, Cindy Messer, 48, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Water Resources, where she has served as assistant chief deputy director since 2016. She was deputy director of the Planning, Performance and Technology Division at the Delta Stewardship Council from 2012 to 2016 and assistant executive officer at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy from 2010 to 2012.
Messer served in several positions in the Division of Environmental Services at the California Department of Water Resources from 1999 to 2010 including senior environmental scientist, environmental program manager, section chief and environmental scientist. She earned a Master of Science degree in conservation biology from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $162,948. Messer is a Democrat.
John Mann, 50, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislation at the California Department of Technology. Mann has served as communications director in the Office of California State Senator Tony Mendoza since 2014. He was communications director at the Alex Padilla for Secretary of State campaign from 2013 to 2014 and in the Office of California State Senator Alex Padilla from 2011 to 2014, at the Pedro Nava for Attorney General campaign from 2009 to 2010 and in the Office of California State Assemblymember Pedro Nava from 2006 to 2010. Mann was a consultant for the California State Senate Democratic Caucus from 1999 to 2005 and in the Office of California State Senator Jack O’Connell from 1995 to 1998. He served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Niger from 1988 to 1991. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $102,000. Mann is a Democrat.
Chris Laszcz-Davis, 66, of Orinda, has been appointed to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. Laszcz-Davis has been founder and principal at the Environmental Quality Organization LLC since 2002. She held several positions at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation from 1980 to 2002, including vice president of corporate environmental affairs, health, safety and operational integrity, corporate manager of product liability and corporate director of risk assessment, strategy and compliance. Laszcz-Davis was an industrial hygiene engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories from 1976 to 1980 and a regional manager for medical and industrial hygiene programs at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1974 to 1976. Laszcz-Davis earned a Master of Science degree in environmental health sciences from the University of Minnesota. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Laszcz-Davis is a Democrat.
John Riggs, 63, of Mission Viejo, has been reappointed to the California Fraud Assessment Commission, where he has served since 2009. Riggs has been manager of workers’ compensation at Disneyland Resort in California since 2003. He was director of workers’ compensation at 99 Cent Stores Inc. from 2002 to 2003, regional claims manager and vice president at the California Casualty Management Company from 1993 to 2001 and claims manager at the Zenith Insurance Company Workers’ Compensation Branch from 1987 to 1993. Riggs was an independent claims consultant from 1986 to 1987. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree in organizational management from Ashford University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Riggs is a Republican.
