SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Vito Imbasciani, 69, of Los Angeles, has been appointed secretary at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Imbasciani has been director of government relations at the Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group since 2004, where he has been a urologic surgeon since 1997. He served as state surgeon for the California Army National Guard from 2006 to 2014 and as a surgeon in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1986 to 2014. Imbasciani is president-elect of the Los Angeles County Medical Association and a member of the California Medical Association Board of Trustees and the California Association of Physician Groups Board of Directors. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts degrees in musicology from Cornell University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $188,451. Imbasciani is a Democrat.
Terrence O’Brien, 65, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. O’Brien has been a senior consultant at Environmental Resources Management since 2012. He was a renewable energy consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from 2012 to 2014 and held several positions at the California Energy Commission from 1979 to 2011, including deputy director of the Siting, Transmission and Environmental Protection Division and senior advisor to the chairman. O’Brien earned a Master of Arts degree in geography from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. O’Brien is a Democrat.
Roger H. Dunstan, 60, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Gambling Control Commission. Dunstan has been chief consultant for the California State Assembly Health Committee since 2014. He was principal consultant for the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee from 2011 to 2014 and for the California State Senate Health Committee from 2003 to 2011. He served as a lecturer at California State University, Sacramento from 2001 to 2003, assistant director at the California State Library’s California Research Bureau from 1993 to 2003 and assistant deputy administrator at the California Department of Fish and Game from 1990 to 1992. Dunstan was senior consultant for the California State Senate Office of Research from 1987 to 1990, an energy research specialist at the California Energy Commission in 1987, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1984 to 1987 and a planner at the California State Lands Commission from 1978 to 1984. He was an analyst at the California Solid Waste Management Board from 1977 to 1979 and a parks and recreation specialist at the California Department of Parks and Recreation from 1975 to 1977. Dunstan earned a Master of Science degree in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $137,956. Dunstan is a Democrat.
Trang To, 55, of Folsom, has been appointed to the California Gambling Control Commission. To was acting chief of police at the Twin Rivers Unified School District Police Department from 2011 to 2012. He served in several positions at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department from 1984 to 2011, including captain, lieutenant and sergeant-deputy. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $137,956. To is registered without party preference.
Rina DiMare, 50, of Clarksburg, has been appointed to the California Exposition and State Fair Board of Directors. DiMare has been a proprietor at Elevation Ten Winery since 2011. She held several positons at Government Strategies Inc. from 2009 to 2014, including president and senior partner. DiMare is vice president of the Clarksburg Wine Grape Growers and Vintners Association. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. DiMare is a Democrat.
Patrick Ferreira, 65, of Sutter, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2005. Ferreira held several positions at the Dried Fruit and Tree Nut Association of California from 1975 to 2012, including northern district manager and vice president. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ferreira is a Republican.
Kulwant Johl, 64, of Yuba City, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2001. Johl has been a pest control advisor at Wilbur-Ellis Co. since 1992. He was a pest control advisor at the Puregro Company from 1975 to 1992. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Johl is a Democrat.
Jennifer Matteoli, 41, of Yuba, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors. Matteoli has been a fitness instructor at In-Shape since 2008 and a partner at Matteoli Brothers since 2000. She was a lab manager at Pioneer Hi-Bred from 1999 to 2000. Matteoli is the Sutter County 4-H representative at the Junior Livestock Auction Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Matteoli is a Republican.
Alice Munger, 40, of Yuba City, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2006. Munger has been an agricultural science teacher at Wheatland Union High School since 2004 and a rice farmer since 2000. She is a member of the California Agricultural Teachers’ Association and the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Munger is a Republican.
Edward Ritchie, 54, of Loma Rica, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors. Ritchie has held several positions at Operating Engineers Local Union 3 since 2006, including district representative and business representative. He was a construction equipment mechanic at Teichert Construction from 1986 to 2006. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ritchie is a Democrat.
Joe Serger, 42, of Marysville, has been appointed to the 13th District Agricultural Association, Yuba-Sutter Fair Board of Directors. Serger has been a senior manager at Miki Orchard Inc. since 2002. He was farm manager at the Valley View Packing Company from 1993 to 2002. Serger is a community leader for Browns Valley 4-H and was a member of the California Dried Plum Board from 2008 to 2012. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Serger is a Republican.
Elizabeth “Libby” Christensen, 28, of Davis, has been reappointed to the 40th District Agricultural Association, Yolo County Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2012. Christensen has been a geography doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis since 2011 and an independent research consultant since 2010. She was a research consultant for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments from 2012 to 2013. Christensen is a member of the Association of American Geographers. She earned a Master of Science degree in community development from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Christensen is a Democrat.
Michael Mata, 63, of Woodland, has been appointed to the 40th District Agricultural Association, Yolo County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2007. Mata held several positions at the University of California, Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources from 1978 to 2014, including associate development engineer, senior superintendent of agriculture and staff research associate. Mata earned a Master of Science degree in hydrology and biometeorology from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mata is registered without party preference.
Bart Vannucci, 50, of Brooks, has been reappointed to the 40th District Agricultural Association, Yolo County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2011. Vannucci has been a financial advisor at Primerica Financial Services since 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Vannucci is a Republican.
Katie Villegas, 49, of West Sacramento, has been reappointed to the 40th District Agricultural Association, Yolo County Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2007. Villegas has been executive director at the Yolo County Children’s Alliance since 2006. She was owner at Katie Villegas Consulting from 2003 to 2006 and served as an analyst at the California Department of Public Health from 1991 to 2005. Villegas earned a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Villegas is a Democrat.