SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Gregory Giusti, 58, of Kelseyville, has been appointed to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Giusti has been an advisor and director of forest and wildlands ecology at the University of California Cooperative Extension since 1985. He was an agricultural biologist at the San Mateo County Department of Agriculture from 1981 to 1985 and chief biologist at the Marine Ecological Institute from 1979 to 1981. He earned a Master of Arts degree in ecology and population biology from California State University, San Francisco. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Giusti is registered decline-to-state.
Eric Sandel, 69, of Truckee, has been appointed to the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 1993. Sandel has held multiple positions at S.A. Engineering since 1978, including principal and engineer. He is a licensed professional engineer and a member of the Truckee-Tahoe Engineers Association and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sandel is a Democrat.
William Von Blasingame, 55, of Irvine, has been appointed to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. Von Blasingame has been a member of the OneOC Board of Directors since 2011 and of the Orange Children and Parents Together Board of Directors since 2008. He was senior vice president and general manager of Caribbean Operations at Mirant Energy Company from 2005 to 2007 and chief financial officer and president at Edison Mission Energy, Asia Pacific from 1986 to 2005. Von Blasingame earned a Master of Business Administration degree in finance and real estate from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Von Blasingame is a Democrat.
Stefanie Warren, 35, of San Diego, has been reappointed to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2013. Warren has been an attorney at Luce Forward, now McKenna Long and Aldridge LLP since 2006. She was a law clerk for the Honorable Irma E. Gonzalez at the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California from 2005 to 2006. Warren earned a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Warren is a Democrat.
Bruce Delgado, 51, of Marina, has been reappointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2011. Delgado has been mayor of the City of Marina since 2008 and a botanist at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management since 1988. He is co-president of the Chuck Haugen Conservation Fund. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Delgado is registered Green Party.
Jeffrey Young, 59, of Santa Barbara, has been appointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2000. Young has been an attorney in private practice since 1994. He was general counsel at the California Aquaculture Association from 1995 to 2000 and associate attorney at the Law Offices of Raymond J. Pulverman from 1994 to 1997. He was owner and operator of Pacific Seafood Industries from 1983 to 1992. Young earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law and a Master of Science degree in natural resources from California State University, Humboldt. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Young is registered decline-to-state.
Newsha Ajami, 38, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2013. Ajami has been senior research associate at the Pacific Institute since 2011. She was a California Council on Science and Technology policy fellow at the California Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee from 2010 to 2011 and a consultant at Berkeley Economic Consulting Inc. from 2007 to 2010. Ajami was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley from 2005 to 2009. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Science degree in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Ajami is a Democrat.
James McGrath, 64, of Berkeley, has been appointed to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2007. He was manager of the Port of Oakland Environmental Department from 1990 to 2005 and a coastal protection analyst at the California Coastal Commission from 1976 to 1990. McGrath was an environmental protection specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1971 to 1976. He is a member of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. McGrath earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. McGrath is a Democrat
Karl Longley, 76 of Fresno, has been appointed to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served from 1999 to 2013 and served from 1989 to 1997. Longley has been water resources coordinator at the California State University, Fresno California Water Institute since 2005. He has held multiple positions at California State University, Fresno, College of Engineering, since 1982, including professor, dean and dean emeritus. Longley was a partner and consulting engineer at Hanna Longley and Associates from 1983 to 1985 and a civil engineer at Strauss and Roberts Consulting Civil Engineers Inc. from 1981 to 1982. Longley is a member of the American Water Works Association, the Water Environment Federation and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He earned a Doctor of Science degree in environmental health engineering and a Master of Science degree in water resources and sanitary engineering from Johns Hopkins University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Longley is registered decline-to-state.
Carmen Ramirez, 37, of Merced, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2011. Ramirez has held multiple positions at the Law Offices of Fagalde Albertoni and Flores LLP since 2008, including attorney and associate attorney. She was a redevelopment associate at the City of Merced Office of Economic Development from 2003 to 2007. Ramirez earned a Juris Doctor degree from the San Joaquin College of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Ramirez is a Democrat.
Ellen Way, 46, of La Quinta, has been reappointed to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2004. Way has been owner of Sanders Way Ranch since 1990. She was president of California Women for Agriculture from 2000 to 2002 and an agricultural specialist for California State Assemblymember James Battin from 1994 to 2000. Way was a merchandising representative and food service manager at Sun World International from 1990 to 1994. She is a member of the Western Growers Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation and California Women for Agriculture. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Way is a Republican
Nancy Wright, 62, of Whitewater, has been reappointed to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2012 and served from 2000 to 2007. Wright has been vice president at Pete Wright General Contractor Inc. since 1997 and co-owner of the Wright Window Company since 1994. She was co-owner of Peter A. Wright General Contractor from 1977 to 1997. Wright is vice chair of the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission and vice president of the Mission Springs Water District Board of Directors. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wright is a Republican.
Charles Stringer, 50, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2010. Stringer has been principal and general counsel at the Renewable Resources Group since 2006. He founded and was owner of the Law Offices of C. M. Stringer from 2001 to 2006 and was senior legal and policy advisor at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission from 1999 to 2001. Stringer was senior assistant tribal attorney for the White Mountain Apache Tribe from 1996 to 1998 and assistant regional counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 from 1992 to 1996. He was an associate at Short Cressman and Burgess from 1989 to 1992. Stringer earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota, School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Stringer is a Democrat.
Lawrence Yee, 65, of Ojai, has been reappointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2012. Yee has been president and coordinating director of the National Food Commons since 2010. He was a national program leader for food marketing systems innovations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2003 to 2004 and held multiple positions at the University of California Cooperative Extension from 1975 to 2008, including director of the University of California Cooperative Extension in Ventura County and director of the University of California Hansen Trust. Yee is a member of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree in agribusiness from Santa Clara University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Yee is registered decline-to-state.