SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Todd Irby, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief counsel at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Irby has served as deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice since 2007. He was a private practice attorney from 2006 to 2007 and an associate attorney at The Duffy Law Firm from 2004 to 2006. Irby was an associate attorney and partner at Hess Verdon and Irby from 1995 to 2004 and an associate attorney at Martin Wilson Fingal and MacDowell from 1994 to 1995. He was an associate attorney at Garrett and Jensen from 1991 to 1994. He is a member of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court. Irby earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $122,928. Irby is a Democrat.
Beverly Johnson, 53, of Alameda, has been appointed deputy director at the Office of Administrative Law. Johnson has served as a councilmember for the City of Alameda since 2010. She previously served as Mayor of the City of Alameda from 2002 to 2010 and as a councilmember from 1998 to 2002. Johnson has been a self-employed attorney since 2000. She was an attorney at the Law Offices of Susan Jeffries from 1995 to 2000, deputy district attorney for Alameda County from 1994 to 1995 and an attorney at the Law Offices of W. Lance Russum from 1985 to 1993. Johnson earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $124,236. Johnson is a Democrat.
Richard Land, 57, of Grass Valley, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Transportation. He has served as acting chief deputy director since 2011. Land was chief engineer and deputy director for project delivery at the California Department of Transportation from 2005 to 2011. He served in multiple positions at the Office of Structure Design at the California Department of Transportation from 1986 to 2005, including state bridge engineer. He worked at the Division of Engineering Services at the California Department of Transportation as a bridge design office chief in 2001, acting state bridge engineer from 1999 to 2001 and as bridge design office chief from 1995 to 1999. Land was bridge design section leader from 1990 to 1994, specification review senior from 1988 to 1990 and resident engineer and structure representative from 1986 to 1988. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $147,000. Land is registered decline-to-state.
James “Larry” Norton, 74, of San Rafael, has been appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees. Norton was principal at Norton and Associates from 1980 to 2007. He served as vice president at the Institute for Medical Sciences at the California Pacific Medical Center from 1976 to 1980, director of development and community relations at Dominican University from 1970 to 1976 and as an intelligence analyst at the United States Central Intelligence Agency from 1963 to 1970. He is a member of the Marin County School Volunteers. Norton earned a Master of Arts degree in history from San Jose State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Norton is a Democrat.
Jose Ortiz, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director of the division of recycling at the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). Ortiz has served as special assistant to the chief deputy director at the California Department of Health Care Services since 2011. He served as chief deputy director of operations at the California Department of Public Health from 2010 to 2011 and deputy director of administration from 2008 to 2010. He was deputy director of administration at the California Department of Developmental Services from 2005 to 2008 and chief of the financial management branch at the California Department of Health Services from 2001 to 2005. Ortiz served as chief fiscal officer at the California Department of Information Technology in 2000, chief of the resources management branch at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation in 1998, and staff services manager at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 1994 to 1998, where he was also associate budget analyst from 1989 to 1994. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Ortiz is a Democrat.