SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Lauri Damrell, 36, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Damrell has been an employment lawyer at Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP since 2006. She was a judicial law clerk for Chief Judge David F. Levi at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California from 2005 to 2006, a marketing manager at Mr. Stock Inc. from 2000 to 2002 and an equity derivatives trader trainee at Group One Trading LLP from 1999 to 2000. Damrell is co-founder of the Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Sacramento and a member of the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Women Lawyers of Sacramento. She was a member of the Operation Protect and Defend Steering Committee from 2012 to 2013. Damrell earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Damrell is a Democrat.
Geena Davis, 58, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she has been chair since 2012 and has served since 2010. The award winning actor has had roles in such films as “Tootsie,” “The Fly,” “Beetlejuice,” “A League of Their Own,” “Thelma & Louise,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight” and “Stuart Little.” Davis received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1989 for her role in “The Accidental Tourist” and the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Drama in 2006 for “Commander in Chief.” She was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for her role in “Thelma & Louise” and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in “A League of Their Own.” Davis is a member of Mensa International, founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentage of female characters and reduce gender stereotyping in media made for children 11 and under. She is a partner with UN Women in an effort to change the way the media represents women and girls and to encourage media to use a “gender” lens when reporting. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Davis is a Democrat.
Marina Illich, 42, of Mill Valley, has been appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Illich has been faculty at New Ventures West since 2013, where she was adjunct faculty from 2011 to 2013, has been a co-founder at Broad Ventures Leadership and a partner at Global Reach Leadership since 2011 and has been an independent leadership and executive coach since 2009. She held multiple positions at the Compassion Project from 2008 to 2010, including president and vice president, was a research scholar at the Institute of Noetic Sciences from 2007 to 2009 and was a program officer at the Helen Graham Park Foundation from 2006 to 2007. Illich was an adjunct instructor at New York University in 2003 and a teaching assistant at Columbia University and Barnard College from 1994 to 2005. She earned a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in religion and Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Illich is a Democrat.
Karen Nelson, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Nelson has been director of youth and community engagement at People Reaching Out since 2014. She was director of programs and business administration at the American Leadership Forum from 2011 to 2014 and director of events, sponsorships and foundation at the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce from 2005 to 2011. Nelson was an event manager at the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce from 2004 to 2005. She is a member of the YMCA of Superior California, the American Leadership Forum, Mountain Valley Chapter and the Drexel University Sacramento Alumni Association. Nelson earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Drexel University Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Nelson is a Democrat.
Alisha Wilkins, 39, of Temecula, has been appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Wilkins has been community and government relations manager at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest since 2003, where she has held multiple positions since 2001, including interim director of public affairs and legislative coordinator. She was office manager at Carpi and Clay Government Relations from 1999 to 2001 and an employment case manager at Maximus from 1998 to 1999. Wilkins earned a Master of Science degree in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wilkins is a Democrat.
Ofelia Alvarez-Willis, 57, of Redlands, has been appointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Willis has been a major in the Army National Guard since 2012 and chief medical doctor of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Ambulatory Care at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center since 2007, where she was chief medical director of the Emergency Department from 1983 to 2007. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Willis is a Republican.