SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the following appointments: First, Nancy Bargmann, 58, of Long Beach, has been reappointed director of the California Department of Developmental Services, where she has served as director since 2016. She was associate executive director of the San Gabriel-Pomona Regional Center from 2015 to 2016 and deputy director of the Community Services Division at the California Department of Developmental Services from 2012 to 2015.
Bargmann held several positions at Home Ownership for Personal Empowerment Inc. from 2009 to 2012, including executive director and business consultant, and held several positions at the MENTOR Network from 1998 to 2009, including vice president of operations, vice president of business development and California state director. She held several positions at the Inland Regional Center from 1985 to 1998, including community services director, resource manager, adult services program manager and consumer services coordinator. Bargmann earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Pepperdine University School of Business and Management and a Master of Science degree in social work from San Diego State University. Bargmann was confirmed to this position by the Senate in 2017. The compensation is $215,124. Bargmann is registered without party preference.
Carla Castañeda, 47, of Lathrop, has been appointed chief deputy director of operations at the California Department of Developmental Services. Castañeda has been an assistant program budget manager for the Department of Finance since 2018, where she has held multiple positions since 2001, including principal program budget analyst. She was a research analyst for the Department of Industrial Relations from 1999 to 2001. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $169,980. Castañeda is a Republican.
Leinani Walter, 48, of Elk Grove, has been appointed assistant deputy director for service access and equity at the California Department of Developmental Services. Walter has been director of program operations for the Association of Regional Center Agencies since 2017. She was a clients rights advocate II for Disability Rights California from 1999 to 2017 and a service coordinator for Valley Mountain Regional Center from 1996 to 1999. Walter earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $126,000. Walter is a Democrat.
Suhail Syed, 56, of Folsom, has been appointed executive advisor of the Strategic Initiatives Office at the California Department of Rehabilitation. Syed has been a policy analyst at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System since 2019. He was a policy analyst at the California Department of Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2019 and held multiple positions at Intel Corporation from 1998 to 2017, including product development manager, engineer and project manager. He was a sales engineer for Hewlett-Packard Corporation from 1996 to 1998. Syed earned a Master of Science degree in computer engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $105,036. Syed is registered without party preference.
Julie Austin, 64, of Oceanside, has been reappointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2016. Austin has been a caregiver for In-Home Support Services since 2010 and a self-employed special education and disabilities advocate since 2001. She was director of the Sales and Marketing Division at Pacific Quarts Inc. from 2013 to 2015 and owner and manager at Brengle Terrace Animal Hospital from 1991 to 1996. Austin was regional sales manager for Rolf C. Hagen Inc. from 1987 to 1991 and a regional sales manager for Zoecon Industries from 1982 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Austin is a Democrat.
Jeana Eriksen, 50, of Santa Rosa, has been reappointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2017. Eriksen was a warehouse worker at Redwood Empire Industries from 1992 to 1994 and a teacher’s aide at the California School for the Blind in 1990. She is a member of the City of Santa Rosa Paratransit Users Group, Sonoma County Transit Paratransit Coordinating Committee and the Advisory Committee for Specialty Healthcare Services. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Eriksen is a Republican.
Bradley P. Gilbert, 63, of Irvine, has been appointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Gilbert has served as director of the California Department of Health Care Services since 2020. He was a retired annuitant at the Inland Empire Health Plan from 2019 to 2020, where he held several positions from 1996 to 2019, including medical director, chief medical officer and chief executive officer. He was director of public health at the County of Riverside Health Services Agency Department of Public Health from 1993 to 1996. Gilbert was director of public health at the San Mateo County Department of Health Services Division of Public Health. Gilbert earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Gilbert is a Democrat.
Andrew Imparato, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Imparato has been executive director of Disability Rights California since 2020. He was executive director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities from 2013 to 2020 and senior counsel and disability policy director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions from 2010 to 2013. He was president and chief executive officer for the American Association of People with Disabilities from 1999 to 2010 and general counsel and director of policy for the National Council on Disability from 1997 to 1999. Imparato earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Imparato is a Democrat.
Maria Marquez, 55, of South El Monte, has been reappointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2017. Marquez has been self-advocate faculty for the University of Southern California Children Hospital Lend Program since 2019. She was a peer self-advocate coordinator at Disability Rights California from 2005 to 2012 and an advocate at People First of California in 2012. She was a consumer advocate at Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center from 2004 to 2005 and an inclusion specialist at Sherry Beamer and Associates Inc. from 2003 to 2004. Marquez was a peer support specialist at Family Resource Library and Assistive Technology Center from 2001 to 2003 and an assistant camp counselor at AbilityFirst Joan and Harry A. Mier, Lawrence L. Frank Center in 1994. She is vice president of the Statewide Self-Determination Advisory Committee and a member of the Consumer Advisory Committee of East Bay, Regional Center of the East Bay Board of Directors and the Developmental Disabilities Council of Contra Costa County. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Marquez is a Democrat.
Tony Thurmond, 51, of Richmond, has been appointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Thurmond has served as California State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2019. He served as an Assemblymember in the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2018. Thurmond was senior director of community and public relations for the Lincoln Child Center from 2010 to 2014. He served as a member of the West Contra Costa Unified School Board from 2008 to 2012 and as a member of the Richmond City Council from 2005 to 2008. He earned a Master of Law and Social Policy degree and a Master of Social Work degree from Bryn Mawr College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Thurmond is a Democrat.
Kimberly McCoy Wade, 48, of Oakland, has been appointed to the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. McCoy Wade has been director of the California Department of Aging since 2020, where she served as acting director in 2019. She was CalFresh and Nutrition Branch chief at the California Department of Social Services from 2015 to 2019, a consultant for Public Policy and Philanthropy Consulting from 2009 to 2015 and campaign manager for Together California’s Future in 2008. She was executive director of the California Association of Food Banks from 2006 to 2008, where she was co-director from 2004 to 2006. McCoy Wade was director of education and advocacy for Food Banks of Northern California from 2001 to 2003, campaign manager for the Alliance for Justice in 2000 and senior domestic policy analyst for Bread for the World from 1998 to 1999. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. McCoy Wade is a Democrat.
Brian Gutierrez, 29, of West Covina, has been appointed to the California Commission on Disability Access. Gutierrez has been executive vice president of external affairs for DEL Records with distributor Sony Music Latin since 2015. He was a senior liaison for State Assemblymember Roger Hernandez from 2013 to 2015 and a senior liaison for State Senator Gil Cedillo from 2009 to 2013. Gutierrez is an ambassador of Autism Speaks. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gutierrez is a Democrat.
Appointments for March 10, 2020
Ryan Morimune, 34, of Sacramento, will be appointed, effective March 23, as chief of legislative affairs for administration at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Morimune has served as chief of staff and legislative director for State Senator Steven Bradford since 2017. He was principal assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer from 2016 to 2017. Morimune was press secretary and legislative aide in the Office of State Assemblymember Susan Bonilla from 2014 to 2016. He was a policy intern for the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review and in the Office of State Assemblymember Jim Frazier from 2013 to 2014. Morimune earned a Master of Arts degree in sociology with an emphasis on race, ethnic relations and criminology from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $125,760. Morimune is a Democrat.
Russ Nichols, 52, of Cameron Park, has been reappointed director of the Division of Enterprise Information Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has served in that role since 2015. Nichols was director of strategic offender management systems at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2010 to 2015. He was MyCalPays technical project manager at the California State Controller’s Office from 2007 to 2009. Nichols was application services and customer services manager at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the Marine Reserve with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1987 to 1994. Nichols was confirmed to this position by the Senate in 2016. The compensation is $178,536. Nichols is a Republican.
Nuriel Moghavem, 30, of Redwood City, has been reappointed to the Health Professions Education Foundation Board of Trustees, where he has served since 2019, and has been designated president. Moghavem has been a resident physician at the Stanford School of Medicine Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences since 2018. He was a resident physician in internal medicine at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center from 2017 to 2018 and a legislative assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Richard Gordon from 2015 to 2016. Moghavem earned a Doctor of Medicine degree concentrated in health services and policy research from the Stanford School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Moghavem is a Democrat.
Damascus Castellanos, 53, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Horse Racing Board. Castellanos has been a business representative for Teamsters Local No. 495 since 2012. He was a business representative for Teamsters Local No. 630 from 2001 to 2012. Castellanos is a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Castellanos is a Democrat.
