SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Elena Gomez, 46, of West Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of the California Department of Rehabilitation Specialized Services Division, where she has served as assistant deputy director since 2012. Gomez has served in several positions at the California Department of Rehabilitation since 1995, including acting program manager of services to the deaf, senior vocational rehabilitation counselor and senior information systems analyst. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $105,636. Gomez is registered without party preference.
Thyonne Gordon, 51, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Naturopathic Medicine Committee. Gordon has been founder of Beyond Story consulting since 2014. She was executive director at CoachArt.org from 2009 to 2014 and at the A Place Called Home Youth Center from 2001 to 2009 and a sales operation director at Digital Lava from 2000 to 2001. Gordon earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in human and organizational development and a Master of Arts degree in human development from Fielding Graduate University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gordon is a Democrat.
Tara Levy, 44, of Oakland, has been reappointed to the California Naturopathic Medicine Committee, where she has served since 2010. Levy has been owner of Tara Natural Medicine since 1999. She was co-founder of Apothe-Carry from 2006 to 2009. Levy is a member of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She earned a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Bastyr University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Levy is registered Green Party.
Tabatha Parker, 43, of San Diego, has been appointed to the California Naturopathic Medicine Committee. Parker has been co-director at the National College of Natural Medicine Master of Science in global health program and director of education at the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine since 2014. She has been executive director at Natural Doctors International since 2003, where she was a naturopathic physician and medical director from 2005 to 2012. Parker was core faculty at Bastyr University California in 2012. She is a co-chair of the World Naturopathic Federation Interim Committee and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians Global health Committee and an agency liaison and author for the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project. Parker is a member of the IM4US Multi-Disciplinary Committee, Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care Working Group, Naturopathic Global Health Working Group, Nica Photo Inc. Board of Directors, Naturopathic Coordinating Council, Natural Doctors International Board of Directors, California Naturopathic Doctors Association, American Holistic Medical Association, American Botanical Council, American Herbalist Guild, Global Health Council and Doctors for Global Health. Parker earned a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from the National College of Natural Medicine. This position does not require Senate Confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Parker is a Democrat.
Myles Spar, 48, of Manhattan Beach, has been appointed to the California Naturopathic Medicine Committee. Spar has been medical director at the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine since 2008 and clinical faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of integrative medicine and HIV services at the Venice Family Clinic Simms-Mann Health and Wellness Center since 2002. Spar was a volunteer in the field for Doctors Without Borders in 2001 and senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 2000 to 2001. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Public Health degree in health services from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate Confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Spar is a Democrat.
Susan Granzella, 64, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Contractors State License Board. Granzella held several positions at Visa Inc. from 1996 to 2014, including senior director and vice president for technical documentation and audit and compliance coordination for global development. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Granzella is a Democrat.
Paul Martin, 43, of Marina del Rey, has been appointed to the California ScholarShare Investment Board. Martin has been senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment since 2014, where he was vice president of global recruitment and inclusion from 2008 to 2014. He was vice president of worldwide recruitment at Warner Bros. from 2006 to 2008, where he held several positions from 2003 to 2006, including manager of recruitment, director of recruitment and executive director of worldwide recruitment operations. Martin was a human resources manager at LRN, The Legal Knowledge Company from 2000 to 2003, a recruiting consultant at Johnson and Johnson from 1996 to 1997 and an executive recruiter at Merrill Lynch from 1993 to 1996. He is a member of the PromaxBDA Diversity Board and the Hollywood Cinema Productions Resources Board of Directors. Martin earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Martin is a Democrat.
Rachel Michelin, 42, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed to the California State Board of Optometry. Michelin has been chief executive officer and executive director at California Women Lead since 2002, where she was a program and policy director from 2001 to 2002. She was communications director for California State Assemblymember Anthony Pescetti from 1999 to 2001 and district director for California State Assemblymember Bill Campbell from 1996 to 1998. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Michelin is a Republican.