SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Lauri Damrell, 37, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she has served since 2014. 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.
Marina Illich, 43, of Mill Valley, has been reappointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she has served since 2014. Illich has been faculty at New Ventures West since 2013, where she was adjunct faculty from 2011 to 2013. She 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. Illich 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. She was a teaching assistant at Columbia University and Barnard College from 1994 to 2005 and an adjunct instructor at New York University in 2003. Illich 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.
Alisha Wilkins, 40, of Temecula, has been reappointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she has served since 2014. Wilkins has been principal consultant at the Empire Consulting Group since 2014. She held several positions at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest from 2001 to 2014, including community and government relations manager, interim director of public affairs and legislative coordinator. Wilkins was office manager at Carpi and Clay Government Relations from 1999 to 2001 and an employment case manager at Maximus from 1998 to 1999. She is a member of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County Inc. Board, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Leadership Riverside Alumni. 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, 58, of Redlands, has been reappointed to the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she has served since 2014. 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.
Charles Winner, 74, of Beverly Hills, has been reappointed to the California Horse Racing Board, where he has been chair since 2013 and has served since 2012. Winner has been founder and partner at Winner and Mandabach Campaigns since 1985 and founder and president at Winner Consulting Inc. since 1975. He was a consultant for various local, state and federal campaigns from 1969 to 1975. Winner was founder and partner of Cerrell Winner and Associates from 1966 to 1969 and served as Southern California secretary and travel secretary for Governor Pat Brown from 1965 to 1966. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Winner is a Democrat.