SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Richard Bookwalter, 53, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Board of Occupational Therapy. Bookwalter has been an occupational therapist for durable medical equipment and rehabilitation outcomes for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Inc. since 2008. He was supervisor of outpatient rehabilitation at the California Pacific Medical Center from 2006 to 2008, occupational therapist and program manager at the Institute on Aging from 1996 to 2006 and a home health occupational therapist at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center Home Health Care from 1998 to 1999. Bookwalter was an occupational therapist at the Davies Medical Center from 1995 to 1997, a development associate at the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation from 1988 to 1993 and a manager in development communications at the Columbia University Teachers College from 1986 to 1987. Bookwalter earned a Master of Science degree in occupational therapy from San Jose State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Bookwalter is a Democrat.
Ben R. Drake, 64, of Temecula, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2010. Drake has been president of Drake Enterprises since 1980. He was manager of grower relations at McMillan Farms from 1976 to 1980 and manager of agriculture development at Kaiser Aetna from 1973 to 1976. Drake is a member of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board and the University of California, Riverside Chancellor’s Agricultural Advisory Council. He is vice-president of the Rancho California Water District and a member of the Murrieta Temecula Group Board. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Drake is a Republican.
Mohammad Qureshi, 48, of Redlands, has been appointed to the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Qureshi has been chief of traffic at the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works of since 2012. He was regional director and senior project manager at LIN Consulting from 2007 to 2012, director of the Jackson State University Institute for Multimodal Transportation from 2006 to 2007 and assistant professor and director at the University of Missouri-Rolla’s Missouri Local Transportation Resource Center from 2000 to 2006. Qureshi was a research specialist at the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research from 1998 to 2000 and senior associate at the Resource Systems Group Inc. from 1995 to 1997. Qureshi earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Qureshi is a Democrat.
Karen Roberts, 52, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Roberts has been senior structural engineer at the California Department of General Services, Division of the State Architect since 1999. She was project engineer and special inspection department manager at Biggs Cardosa Associates from 1990 to 1999 and a staff engineer at Mesiti-Miller Engineering from 1989 to 1990. Roberts was a junior engineer at Biggs Cardosa Associates and at Creegan and D’Angelo Consulting Engineers from 1983 to 1986. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Roberts is registered without party preference.