SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Tom Dresslar, 61, of Sacramento, has been appointed special assistant to the commissioner at the California Department of Business Oversight. Dresslar has served as communications director at the California State Treasurer’s Office since 2007. He served as press secretary at the California Department of Justice from 2002 to 2006 and was principal consultant to the California Joint Committee on Legislative Audit in 2002. Dresslar served as special assistant to the speaker in the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Oversight from 2000 to 2002 and was the Sacramento bureau chief at the Daily Journal from 1987 to 2000, a staff reporter at the Sacramento Daily Recorder from 1986 to 1987 and an editor and staff reporter at the Auburn Journal from 1984 to 1986. Dresslar served in the U.S. Air Force as a flight records and airfield management specialist from 1971 to 1979. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $131,808. Dresslar is registered without party preference.
Andrew Sturmfels, 31, of West Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislative and inter-governmental affairs at the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, where he has served as senior permit assistance specialist since 2013. Sturmfels was planning and performance manager at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 2011 to 2013, a graduate assistant at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2010 to 2011, director of food and beverage and corporate task force manager at Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants from 2006 to 2010 and senior food and beverage manager at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel from 2005 to 2006. He earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $84,000. Sturmfels is registered without party preference.
Scott Bowling, 49, of West Hollywood, has been appointed to the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Scott has been president and chief executive officer at the Exceptional Children’s Foundation since 1999. He was associate director at New Horizons from 1989 to 1999. Bowling is a member of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Bowling is registered without party preference.
Tiena Johnson-Hall, 54, of Pomona, has been appointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors. Johnson-Hall has been the community relations officer for southern California at BBVA Compass since 2014. She was vice president at U.S. Bank from 2005 to 2013 and director of housing at the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department from 2003 to 2005. Johnson-Hall was a senior vice president at Bank of America from 1996 to 2003 and project manager at the Los Angeles Community Design Center from 1991 to 1994. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Redlands. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Johnson-Hall is a Democrat.
Catherine Mann, 64, of Elk Grove, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, where she has served since 2008. Mann has been a case manager at the Turning Point Community Programs, Northgate Point Regional Support Team since 1998. She is president and founder of the To’utupu ‘oe ‘Otu Felenite Association and a member of the Health For All Board of Directors, the Pacific Rim Foundation Board of Directors, the Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership Executive Committee and the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association Board of Directors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mann is registered without party preference.
Cirian Villavicencio, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Villavicencio has been an associate professor at San Joaquin Delta College since 2012 and has been an adjunct professor at American River College and Folsom Lake College since 2007. Villavicencio is a member of the Western Political Science Association, the American Society for Public Administration and the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Villavicencio is a Democrat.
Dolly Sandoval, 53, of Cupertino has been appointed to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Sandoval has been a mathematics teacher at Los Gatos High School since 1996 and was a mathematics teacher San Lorenzo Valley Junior High School from 1989 to 1996. She was a member of the Cupertino City Council from 2001 to 2009 and of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2001. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sandoval is a Democrat.
Mark Wheetley, 55, of Arcata, has been appointed to the California Seismic Safety Commission. Wheetley has been mayor of the City of Arcata since 2014, has served as a member of the Arcata City Council since 2005 and has been a basin planner for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2000. He was north coast project manager at the California Natural Resources Agency from 1994 to 2000, a project manager at the California Coastal Conservancy from 1988 to 2000, program analyst at the California Coastal Commission from 1984 to 1988 and a planning technician for the City of Arcata in 1985. Wheetley is a member of the League of California Cities Board of Directors. He has served as Arcata City Council liaison to Humboldt State University, the California Association of Councils of Government, the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission and to the Friends of the Arcata Marsh. Wheetley is a member of the Making Headway Advisory Board, a coach for the Northern California Special Olympics and was a founding member of the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wheetley is a Democrat.