SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Kristoffer Applegate, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief of legislative affairs for adult operations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Applegate has been legislative manager at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2009, and was a legislative analyst from 2005 to 2009. He received his Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $70,560. Applegate is a Democrat.
Terri Bishop, 58, of Lafayette, has been appointed to the California Student Aid Commission. Bishop has worked at the Apollo Group since 1997, including serving most recently as executive vice president of academic strategy and senior advisor to the chief executive officer. From 1989 to 1997, she was senior vice president of the Online Campus at the University of Phoenix. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Bishop is a Democrat.
Gordon Burns, 45, of Davis, has been appointed undersecretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Burns has been an attorney for the Resources Law Group since 2010. He was deputy solicitor general at the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General from 2006 to 2010 and deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice from 1996 to 2006. From 1994 to 1996, Burns was an attorney at Downey Brand Seymour and Rohwer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,000. Burns is a Democrat.
Magdalena Carrasco, 44, of San Jose, has been appointed to the First 5 California Children and Families Commission. Carrasco has been a child development screening specialist at the Gardner Family Health Network since 2010. She was a program specialist at First 5 Santa Clara from 2008 to 2009, an engagement specialist at Santa Clara Family Health from 2007 to 2008 and a social work coordinator at the Department of Family and Children’s Services in Santa Clara County from 1994 to 2004. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Carrasco is a Democrat.
Matthew Maclear, 39, of El Cerrito, has been appointed assistant general counsel for enforcement at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Maclear has served as statewide environmental circuit prosecutor for the California District Attorneys Association since 2006. He was an associate attorney for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith from 2004 to 2006, associate attorney for Filice Brown Eassa and McLeod from 2003 to 2004, associate attorney for Burke Williams and Sorensen from 2002 to 2003 and associate attorney for Adams Nye Sinunu and Walker from 2000 to 2002. Maclear received his Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $121,800. Maclear is a Democrat.
Jason Marshall, 42, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Conservation. Marshall has been the deputy director at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) since 2010. He worked at the Department of Conservation in multiple positions from 1991 to 2009, including chief deputy director and legislative director. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $109,752. Marshall is registered decline-to-state.
Mark Nechodom, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed director at the California Department of Conservation. Nechodom has served as senior advisor to the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2010. From 2008 to 2010, he was acting director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Environmental Markets and senior climate policy advisor for the U.S. Forest Service from 2006 to 2008. He was a senior scientist and policy advisor at the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station from 1998 to 2006. Nechodom received his doctorate in political science from the University of California, Santa Cruz. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $136,156. Nechodom is a Democrat.
Jill Rice, 38, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant legal counsel at the State Board of Education. Rice has served as deputy general counsel for the California Department of Education since 2008. Previously, she was an education programs consultant for the California Department of Education from 2006 to 2008. Rice worked as a consultant for the Buck Institute for Education from 2002 to 2007. She was a teacher at Da Vinci High School from 2005 to 2006, Granite Bay High School from 2003 to 2004, Las Lomas High School from 2000 to 2003 and Aragon High School from 1999 to 2000. Rice received her Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and compensation is $96,792. Rice is a Democrat.
Scott Smithline, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director for policy development at the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Smithline has been a consultant at Smithline Group since 2008. He was director of legal and regulatory affairs at Californians Against Waste from 2003 to 2008, an attorney at Lawyers for Clean Water in 2001 and a fellow at Golden Gate University Environmental Law and Justice Clinic from 2000 to 2001. Smithline received his Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100,008. Smithline is a Democrat.
Roy Wesley, 57, of Carmichael, has been appointed chief deputy inspector general at the Office of the Inspector General. Wesley has been chief assistant inspector general at the Office of the Inspector General since 2010, after serving as a senior assistant inspector general from 2009 to 2010 and senior oversight counsel from 2007 to 2009. Wesley was a partner at Pursley Rush and Wesley LLP from 2002 to 2007. He served as a commander in the U.S. Navy from 1990 to 2005 and as a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1978 to 1988. Wesley received his Juris Doctor degree from McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $139,440. Wesley is registered decline-to-state.