SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This past Thursday, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments: First, Jorge Jaramillo, 43, of San Francisco, has been appointed chief of the Office of Public Sector Non-Governmental Organization Coordination at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Jaramillo has served as deputy director of external affairs at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development since 2012.
He was president of the Open Markets Company from 2003 to 2012, a marketing manager at Excite@Home from 1999 to 2002 and an associate producer at Excite.com from 1998 to 1999. Jaramillo is a Truman National Security Project partner, vice chairman of the U.S. Department of Commerce National District Export Council and a member of the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Alumni Board of Directors and the Resource Management and Climate Protection Committee for the City and County Association of Governments. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $109,200. Jaramillo is a Democrat.
Abby Browning, 36, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant chief of the Office of Public Sector Non-Governmental Organization Coordination at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Browning has served as an international business specialist at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development since 2013. She was an associate for international affairs at the California Chamber of Commerce from 2007 to 2013, an executive assistant at OMI Government Relations from 2005 to 2007 and a graduate student legislative assistant at the California Seismic Safety Commission from 2001 to 2004. She earned a Master of Arts degree in government from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $62,352. Browning is a Democrat.
Scott Smithline, 45, of Davis, has been appointed director at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, where he has served as assistant director for policy development since 2011. Smithline was a consultant at the Smithline Group from 2008 to 2011, director of legal and regulatory affairs at Californians Against Waste from 2003 to 2008 and an attorney at Lawyers for Clean Water in 2001. He was a fellow at the Golden Gate University School of Law’s Environmental Law and Justice Clinic from 2000 to 2001. Smithline earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Golden Gate University School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $153,960. Smithline is a Democrat.
Kenneth Pogue, 47, of Shingle Springs, has been appointed undersecretary of administration and offender services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has served as assistant secretary in the Office of Legislation since 2013. Pogue served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1999 to 2013 and was an associate at the Law Offices of Porter, Scott, Weiberg and Delehant from 1997 to 1999. He was a contract attorney at the Law Office of Robert Tronvig in 1997 and served as a contract district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office in 1996. Pogue earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,804. Pogue is a Democrat.
Hansen Pang, 53, of Alameda, has been appointed chief investigator in the Office of Criminal Investigations at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Pang has been an investigator at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office since 2012. He served as an inspector at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office from 1994 to 2012, a police officer at the University of California Police Department at Berkeley from 1981 to 1994 and was a data control clerk at Wells Fargo from 1978 to 1985. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,620. Pang is a Republican.
Michael Moodian, 39, of Rancho Santa Margarita, has been appointed to the California Commission on Judicial Performance. Moodian has been an associate professor of social science at Brandman University since 2014 and an instructor at the Chapman University College of Educational Studies since 2010. He served in the Army National Guard from 1993 to 2001. Moodian earned a Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University and a Master of Arts degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Moodian is a Democrat.
Karla Rhay, 57, of Riverside, has been appointed to the California Fraud Assessment Commission. Rhay has been chief administrative officer in the Office of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools since 2005. She was a risk management coordinator for the Ontario-Montclair School District from 1998 to 2005 and served in several positions at the Riverside County Office of Education from 1990 to 1998, including risk management specialist. She is a member of the Schools Excess Liability Fund, California State Association of Counties Excess Insurance Authority and the Association of California School Administrators. Rhay earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rhay is a Republican.
Kimberly Rodrigues, 56, of Woodland, has been appointed to the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Rodrigues has been director of the Hopland Research and Extension Center at the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources since 2015, where she has held several positions since 1999, including executive director of the Academic Personnel Unit and North Coast and mountain regional director. She was a forestry advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension from 1991 to 1999, a tree improvement specialist at Simpson Timber Company from 1985 to 1991 and chief forester at Applied Forest Genetics from 1984 to 1985. Rodrigues is a member of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science degree in forest genetics from Colorado State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rodrigues is a Democrat.
Devon Graves, 22, of Murrieta, has been reappointed to the California Student Aid Commission, where he has served since 2014. Graves has been a program assistant at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona College of the Extended University since 2015. He was conference services lead at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Housing Conference Services from 2012 to 2015. Graves was chair of the California State Student Association Board of Directors and a member of the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors from 2013 to 2015. He was attorney general at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Associated Students Inc. from 2012 to 2013. Graves will be a student at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies in September, 2015. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Graves is a Democrat.
Gene “Herm” Benedetti, 58, of Sonoma, has been reappointed to the 4th District Agricultural Association, Sonoma-Marin Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 1991. Benedetti was president of research and development at Clover Stornetta Farms Inc. from 1977 to 2015. He is a member of the Sonoma State University Academic Foundation Inc. Board of Directors, California Milk Processor Board and the Dairy Council of California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Benedetti is a Republican.
Dominic Grossi, 42, of Novato, has been appointed to the 4th District Agricultural Association, Sonoma-Marin County Fair Board of Directors, where he has been president since 2015 and has served since 2010. Grossi has been a partner and owner at George Grossi and Son Dairy since 1995. He is a member of the Marin County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, Petaluma Future Farmers of America Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Redwood Empire Holstein Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Grossi is a Republican.
Ruth McClure, 53, of Inverness, has been reappointed to the 4th District Agricultural Association, Sonoma-Marin Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 1992. McClure has been corporate secretary and bookkeeper at McClure Dairy Inc. since 1987 and vice president at American AgCredit since 1984. She is co-president of California Women for Agriculture. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. McClure is a Republican.
Lori Salters, 52, of Yreka, has been appointed to the 10th District Agricultural Association, Siskiyou Golden Fair Board of Directors. Salters has been director of the Siskiyou Afterschool For Everyone program at the Siskiyou County Office of Education since 2010, where she served as area liaison from 2006 to 2010. She was a clerical and billing support worker at Mountain Valleys Health Centers from 2001 to 2002 and a confidential administrative assistant at Gazelle Union Elementary School from 1992 to 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Salters is a Republican.
Denise Hansen, 54, of Hanford, has been appointed to the 24a District Agricultural Association, Kings Fair Board of Directors. Hansen has been a dermatology specialty sales representative at LEO Pharma Inc. since 2011. She was a respiratory sales representative at Meda Pharmaceuticals from 2010 to 2011 and a urology sales representative at Pfizer Inc. from 2003 to 2010. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hansen is a Republican.
Kelley Medeiros, 29, of Hanford, has been appointed to the 24a District Agricultural Association, Kings Fair Board of Directors. Medeiros has been senior credit analyst at Farm Credit West since 2013, where she has held several positions since 2008, including loan officer and loan analyst. She was an account analyst at the Fort Dearborn Company in 2008 and desk manager at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo from 2004 to 2008. Medeiros is a member of the Kings County 4-H Leaders Council and the Kings County Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Medeiros is a Republican.
Vicky Banaga, 57, of Le Grand, has been appointed to the 35th District Agricultural Association, Merced County Fair Board of Directors. Banaga has been chief business official at the Le Grand Union Elementary School District since 1977. She is a member of the Le Grand Beautification Committee and the Merced County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Banaga is a Democrat.
Kimber Rogina, 54, of Merced, has been appointed to the 35th District Agriculture Association, Merced County Fair Board of Directors. Rogina has been a real estate agent at Century 21, Salvadori Realty since 2008 and co-owner at Rogina Inc. since 1985. She is a member of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation Alumni Council, Merced County Farm Bureau and California Women for Agriculture. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rogina is a Republican.
