SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — On Monday, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments: First, Scott Kernan, 54, of West Sacramento, has been appointed undersecretary for operations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was owner at Kernan Consulting from 2011 to 2015.
Kernan served in several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, including undersecretary for operations from 2008 to 2011, chief deputy secretary of adult operations from 2007 to 2008, deputy director of adult institutions from 2006 to 2007, warden at California State Prison, Sacramento from 2004 to 2006 and warden at Mule Creek State Prison from 2003 to 2004, where he was a chief deputy warden from 2001 to 2003 and a correctional administrator from 2000 to 2001.
Kernan served as a correctional captain at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 1991 to 2000, a correctional lieutenant from 1987 to 1991, an associate budget analyst from 1986 to 1987, a correctional sergeant from 1985 to 1986 and a correctional officer from 1983 to 1985. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1982. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,000. Kernan is a Republican.
Russell Nichols, 47, of Cameron Park, has been appointed director of the division of enterprise information services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has served as acting director since 2015 and was project director of the strategic offender management system from 2012 to 2014.
Nichols was a data processing manager at the Office of California Correctional Health Care Services from 2010 to 2012 and at the California State Controller’s Office from 2007 to 2010, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from 1999 to 2007 and the Employment Development Department from 1997 to 1999. He served as an associate information systems analyst for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from 1992 to 1997, where he was a programmer from 1990 to 1992. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $127,740. Nichols is a Republican.
Robert Sachs, 69, of Pasadena, has been appointed to the California Physician Assistant Board, where he has served since 2011. Sachs has been a physician assistant for cardiac surgery at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute since 1995. He was a physician assistant at Foothill Cardiothoracic from 1972 to 1995. Sachs is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, California Academy of Physician Assistants and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sachs is a Democrat.
On March 5, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments:
Tom Dyer, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy legislative affairs secretary in the Office of the Governor. Dyer has served as legislative director at the California Department of Finance since 2012. He was legislative director at the California Department of Personnel Administration from 2010 to 2012. Dyer served as staff counsel at the California Department of Social Services in 2009, labor relations counsel at the California Department of Personnel Administration from 2006 to 2008 and enforcement counsel at the California Fair Political Practices Commission in 2006. He served as deputy district attorney at the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office from 2003 to 2005. Dyer earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $140,064. Dyer is a Democrat.
Anthony A. Batarse, Jr., 81, of Oakland, has been reappointed to the California New Motor Vehicle Board, where he has served since 2013. Batarse has been chief executive officer and president at Lloyd A. Wise Companies since 1972. He is a member of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Batarse is an American Independent.
Victoria Rusnak, 46, of Pasadena, has been reappointed to the California New Motor Vehicle Board, where she has served since 2009. Rusnak has held several positions at the Rusnak Auto Group since 2006, including chief executive officer, president, chief operating officer and general counsel. She was an attorney in private practice from 1996 to 2006 and was executive director of Washington Ceasefire from 1994 to 1995. She is a member of the California New Car Dealers Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association. Rusnak earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Gonzaga University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rusnak is a Democrat.
Glenn Stevens, 62, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California New Motor Vehicle Board, where he has served since 2000. Stevens has been vice president at Nelson Shelton and Associates since 1995 and an attorney at the Law Offices of Glenn E. Stevens since 1988. He served as an attorney at the Los Angeles Alternate Public Defender’s Office from 1986 to 1988 and as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 1979 to 1986. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Stevens is a Democrat.
Genoveva Islas, 46, of Tulare, has been appointed to the California Health Benefit Exchange. Islas has been program director at the Public Health Institute’s Cultiva La Salud, formerly the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program, since 2006. She was an area field representative at the California Department of Public Health, California Diabetes Program from 2004 to 2005. Islas was an adjunct faculty member at Bakersfield College from 1997 to 2005 and health education-cultural linguistics supervisor at Kern Health Systems from 1993 to 1999. She earned a Master of Public Health degree from Loma Linda University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Islas is a Democrat.
Marty Morgenstern, 80, of Oakland, has been appointed to the California Health Benefit Exchange. Morgenstern has served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Governor since 2013. He served as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2011 to 2013 and was a consultant for the University of California on labor relations matters from 2004 to 2006 and from 2009 to 2011. Morgenstern was director of the California Department of Personnel Administration from 1999 to 2003 and from 1981 to 1982 and was a consultant in private practice from 1994 to 1999. He was chair of the University of California, Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education from 1987 to 1994 and was a member of the California Public Employment Relations Board from 1982 to 1987. He was appointed director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations in 1975, where he served until 1981. From 1964 to 1974, Morgenstern was active in the union movement as a shop steward, a local union president in New York City and was California director at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. Morgenstern is a member of the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board and the Cal Humanities Board. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Morgenstern is a Democrat.
Renee LaBran, 55, of La Canada Flintridge, has been appointed to the State Bar of California Board of Trustees. LaBran has been a partner at Rustic Canyon-Fontis Partners since 2006. She was a partner at Rustic Canyon Partners from 2000 to 2011 and held multiple positions at the Los Angeles Times from 1993 to 1999, including vice president. She was a management consultant at the Monitor Company from 1985 to 1993. LaBran earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50 per diem. LaBran is a Democrat.
Deane Manning, 63, of Fallbrook, has been appointed to the California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, where he has served since 2011. Manning has been a hearing aid dispenser at Superior Hearing Aid Service since 2012, where he was owner from 1997 to 2012. He was general manager at Destination Hotels from 1994 to 1996 and general manager and director of golf operations at JC Resorts from 1986 to 1994. Manning is a member of the International Hearing Society. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Manning is a Republican.
Nicholas Peters, 56, of Paicines, has been reappointed to the 33rd District Agricultural Association, San Benito County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2014. Peters has been a pump installer at Chappell Pump and Supply since 2014. He was a maintenance mechanic at Royal Circuit Solutions from 2013 to 2014, a clamp operator at International Paper from 2011 to 2013 and a trails maintenance worker at the Pinnacles National Park from 2008 to 2011. Peters was an electrician at Safety Storage from 2007 to 2008 and a maintenance mechanic at Blossom Hill Winery from 1995 to 2007. He is a member of the San Benito County 4-H Club and the San Benito County Fair Livestock Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Peters is registered without party preference.
Linda Weidman, 65, of Hickman, has been reappointed to the 38th District Agricultural Association, Stanislaus County Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2001. Weidman served as a criminal investigator at the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office from 1987 to 2002 and as a deputy sheriff at the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department from 1972 to 1987. She is a member of the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center Board of Directors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Weidman is a Republican.
On March 4, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointment:
Charles Washington, 62, of Temecula, has been appointed to represent the third district on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. Washington has been a member of the Temecula City Council since 2003, serving as mayor in 2012 and in 2007. He was a pilot for Delta Air Lines from 2008 to 2014 and from 1987 to 2005. Washington was vice president of commercial relations at 1st Centennial Bank from 2005 to 2008 and served as mayor of Murrieta and as a member of the Murrieta City Council from 1995 to 1999. Washington served in the U.S. Navy from 1981 to 1987. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree from National University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $147,688. Washington is a Democrat.
