SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This week, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments: First, Jennifer Kent, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed director of the California Department of Health Care Services. Kent has been executive director at Local Health Plans of California since 2013.
She was principal at Health Management Associates from 2011 to 2013 and served as associate director at the California Department of Health Care Services in 2011, where she served as deputy director of legislative and governmental affairs from 2004 to 2007. Kent served as a deputy legislative secretary in the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2008 to 2010, associate secretary of legislative affairs at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2007 to 2008 and was director of government and external affairs at the California Optometric Association from 1999 to 2004. Kent earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California, Sol Price School of Public Policy. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $182,021. Kent is registered without party preference.
Garin Casaleggio, 38, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary for communications at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Casaleggio has served as deputy communications director in the California State Controller’s Office since 2003. He served as special assistant to the chief of staff in the Office of Governor Gray Davis from 2000 to 2003. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,504. Casaleggio is a Democrat.
Jim Houston, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed undersecretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, where he has served as deputy secretary of legislation and public engagement since 2011. He was a senior account representative at BGS Group Consulting Inc. from 2004 to 2010. Houston served as legislative director in the Office of California State Assemblymember Simon Salinas from 2001 to 2004 and as information technology manager in the Office of the California Assembly Democratic Leadership from 2000 to 2001. Houston earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $141,024. Houston is a Democrat.
Jennifer Moffitt, 34, of Davis, has been appointed deputy secretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Moffitt has been managing director at Dixon Ridge Farms since 2005. She was an education, outreach and research specialist at the American Farmland Trust from 2004 to 2005, where she was a land projects coordinator from 2002 to 2004. Moffitt is vice chair of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and a member of the California Department of Food and Agriculture California Organic Products Advisory Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $131,124. Moffitt is a Democrat.
Joseph Lyou, 54, of Hawthorne, has been reappointed to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, where he has served since 2007. Lyou has been president and chief executive officer at the Coalition for Clean Air since 2010. He was executive director at the California Environmental Rights Alliance from 2003 to 2010 and director of programs and interim executive director for the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund from 2000 to 2002. Lyou served on the Los Angeles World Airports Air Quality Source Apportionment Study Technical Working Group and the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts and Precautionary Approaches Work Group. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lyou is registered without party preference.
Additionally, Gov. Brown announced the following appointments on Jan. 23, 2015:
Teresa Schilling, 52, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director of communications at the California Department of Conservation. Schilling has been assistant executive director of communications at the California Energy Commission since 2013. She was a principal consultant for the California State Senate Rules Committee in 2013, served as legislative director in the Office of California State Senator Noreen Evans from 2009 to 2013 and was a policy consultant for California State Senator Patricia Wiggins from 2008 to 2009. Schilling was a consultant at Lincoln Crow Communications from 2001 to 2008, served as press secretary in the Office of the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2005 to 2006 and was program manager at Environmental Media Services from 2000 to 2001.She was communications director at the California League of Conservation Voters from 1997 to 2000 and at Blanning and Baker Associates from 1996 to 1997. Schilling was associate national media director at the Sierra Club from 1989 to 1996 and a campaign assistant at the Planning and Conservation League from 1987 to 1988. She is a member of Friends of the River. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,876. Schilling is a Democrat.
Ed Wilson, 59, of Placerville, has been appointed deputy assistant director of public affairs at the California Department of Water Resources. Wilson has been assistant director of communications at the California Department of Conservation since 2005, where he has served in several positions since 2000, including interim assistant director and public information officer. He was news director at KTXL-TV from 1998 to 2000, news marketing producer at KOVR-TV from 1995 to 1998, a consultant at Wilson Broadcasting Resources from 1992 to 1998 and executive news producer at KXTV-TV from 1990 to 1994. Wilson was a news director at KCOY-TV from 1989 to 1990, an executive news producer at WCPO-TV from 1987 to 1989 and a news director at KGPE-TV from 1979 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $101,028. Wilson is registered without party preference.
Krystle Contreras, 33, of Porterville, has been appointed to the California Domestic Violence Advisory Council. Contreras has been outreach coordinator at the Central California Family Crisis Center since 2010. She was the youth director at the Porterville First Baptist Church from 2010 to 2012 and an independent realtor from 2004 to 2009. Contreras is co-chair of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Central Valley Public Policy and Research Committee and a member of the Tulare County Youth Commission. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Contreras is a Democrat.
Raji Brar, 39, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the 15th District Agricultural Association, Kern County Fair Board of Directors. Brar has been owner and operator at Countryside Market and Restaurants since 2003. She served as a member of the Arvin City Council from 2006 to 2008, was an executive assistant at Clinica Sierra Vista from 2001 to 2003 and a chemist at BC Laboratories from 2000 to 2001. Brar earned a Master of Science degree from California State University, Bakersfield. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Brar is a Democrat.
Ned Dunphy, 56, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the 15th District Agricultural Association, Kern County Fair Board of Directors. Dunphy has been a partner at Young Wooldridge since 2014, where he has been an attorney since 2012. He was a personal injury lawyer at Klein DeNatale and Goldner from 1990 to 2012 and a staff attorney and organizer at the United Farm Workers from 1977 to 1990. Dunphy is a member of the Kern County Bar Association and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. He earned his legal education through the California State Bar Law Office Study Program while participating in the United Farm Workers of America Legal Apprenticeship Program. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Dunphy is a Democrat.
Candi Easter, 67, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the 15th District Agricultural Association, Kern County Fair Board of Directors. Easter was a bookkeeper at A-1 Battery Company from 1993 to 2005, an area manager at Visalia Inventory Service from 1988 to 1993 and a teacher at the Country Lane Day School from 1971 to 1977. She is a member of the Kern County Democratic Party and a charter member of the Democratic Women of Kern. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Easter is a Democrat.
Rusty Graham, 64, of Woody, has been appointed to the 15th District Agricultural Association, Kern County Fair Board of Directors. Graham has been co-owner at the Robert Woody Ranch since 1994. He was project manager at DLB Construction Inc. from 2002 to 2009, owner and production manager at Blue Mountain Entertainment from 1994 to 2002 and president at Rusty Graham Construction Inc. from 1984 to 1994. Graham was owner and partner at Sequoia Construction from 1981 to 1984. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Graham is a Republican.
