SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Mirtha Villarreal-Younger, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary of minority veterans affairs at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Villarreal-Younger is director of state personnel at the California Military Department, where she has served in multiple positions since 2001, including deputy director of state personnel programs, state equal employment officer, deputy director of public affairs and command information officer and chief of community relations. Villarreal-Younger was a force integration officer at the California Army National Guard from 1997 to 2001. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Villarreal-Younger is a Democrat.
Rosalie Kramm, 52, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Court Reporters Board. Kramm has been principal at Kramm Court Reporting Inc. since 1985. She is president of the Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting and was president of the California Deposition Reporters Association from 2005 to 2006. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Kramm is a Democrat.
Toni O’Neill, 60, of Riverside, has been reappointed to the California Court Reporters Board, where she has served since 2006. O’Neil has held multiple positions at the Riverside County Superior Court since 1995, including official court reporter, senior court reporter and supervising court reporter. She was an official court reporter at the State of Wyoming District Court from 1994 to 1995 and at the Riverside County Superior Court from 1990 to 1994. O’Neil was a staff reporter at the Gillespie Reporting Service from 1989 to 1990 and was partner at Bowlus-O’Neill Reporting Services from 1982 to 1989. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. O’Neill is a Democrat.
Ronna Mee Brand, 64, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California Structural Pest Control Board, where she has served since 2012. Brand has been the state director at the California Association of Realtors since 2006 and founder, owner and broker of Brand Realty since 1984. She was president of the Beverly Hills-Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors in 2007 and founder and owner of Bicoastal Connections from 1980 to 1984. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Brand is a Democrat.
Naresh Duggal, 52, of San Jose, has been reappointed to the Structural Pest Control Board, where he has served since 2012. Duggal has been manager at the Santa Clara County Integrated Pest Management Unit since 2002. He was a quality assurance manager at the Orkin Exterminating Inc., commercial division from 1999 to 2002. Duggal held multiple positions at Prism Professional Integrated Sanitation Management from 1994 to 1999, including technical support and quality assurance manager and staff entomologist and senior district manager, technical advisor and staff entomologist. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Duggal is registered decline-to-state.
Paul Schifino, 51, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California Contractors State License Board, where he has served since 2010. Schifino has been owner and president of Junior Steel Company since 2003 and owner of Anvil Steel Corporation since 1996. He was a partner at Schifino and Lindon from 1992 to 1996, associate attorney at Strook Strook and Lavan LLP from 1990 to 1992 and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University from 1987 to 1989. Schifino earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Schifino is registered decline-to-state.
Joy Anne Sterling, 59, of Sebastopol, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Sterling has held multiple positions at Iron Horse Vineyards since 1985, including chief executive officer and director of sales and marketing. She was a deputy bureau chief at ABC News Network from 1981 to 1985 and news director at WTBS-TV from 1979 to 1981. Sterling was an assignment editor at KPIX-TV from 1976 to 1979 and a reporter at United Press International from 1976 to 1977. She is a member of the Leakey Foundation Board of Trustees. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sterling is a Democrat.
Thomas Unterman, 68, of Pacific Palisades, has been appointed to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board. Unterman has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law since 2011 and has held multiple positions at Rustic Canyon Partners since 1999, including founder and founding partner. He held multiple positions at the Times Mirror Company from 1992 to 1999, including executive vice president and chief financial officer. Unterman was partner at Morrison and Foerster from 1986 to 1992 and at Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP from 1969 to 1986. He has been a member of the ProPublica Board of Directors since 2010 and a Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art trustee since 1999. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Chicago Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Unterman is a Democrat.