SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Jemahl Amen, 45, of Sacramento has been appointed deputy director of facility management at the California Department of General Services, where he has served as acting deputy director of facility management since 2015 and was acting deputy director in the Real Estate Services Division from 2014 to 2015 and deputy director for legislative affairs from 2013 to 2014. Amen was California director of outreach at the Center for Responsible Lending from 2008 to 2013, northern California program director at American Sunrise Communities from 2007 to 2008 and a consultant for California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez from 2004 to 2007. Amen served as a special assistant in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson from 2001 to 2004, where he was a legislative assistant from 1998 to 2001. He was a consultant for the California State Assembly Governmental Organization Committee from 2000 to 2001. Amen earned a Master of Science degree in urban planning and community economic development from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,468. Amen is a Democrat.
Saul Gomez, 38, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary for energy at the California Natural Resources Agency, where he has served as special assistant for oil, gas and geothermal resources since 2014. Gomez was executive director at the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority from 2013 to 2014 and advisor to California Energy Commissioner Carla Peterman from 2011 to 2012. Gomez was director of advocacy at the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies from 2009 to 2011, a legislative consultant for the California State Senate Democratic Caucus in 2008 and legislative aide in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006. Gomez earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $133,836. Gomez is registered without party preference.
Erin Mellon, 28, of San Francisco, has been appointed communications and outreach advisor at the California Natural Resources Agency. Mellon has been communications director at ChargePoint Inc. since 2014. She was director at Mercury Public Affairs from 2013 to 2014 and a communications consultant for the California State Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services in 2013. Mellon was an associate deputy media and political specialist at the Dewey Square Group from 2011 to 2013, deputy campaign manager at Victor Chaltiel for Mayor from 2010 to 2011 and a University of California, Davis campus organizer for the California Public Interest Research Group in 2010. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $110,004. Mellon is a Democrat.
Miriam Hutchins, 73, of Petaluma, has been appointed to the California World History and International Studies Project Advisory Board. Hutchins was director at the Sonoma State University North Bay International Studies Project from 1994 to 2015. She was an English as a second language teacher at the Sonoma State American Language Institute from 1992 to 2015, an English as a second language teacher at Nihon University from 2012 to 2014 and a teacher for Detroit Public Schools from 1966 to 1971. Hutchins earned a Master of Education degree in educational curriculum from Sonoma State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hutchins is a Democrat.
Samuel Bersola, 50, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care. Bersola has been assistant vice provost for graduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles since 2008. He was executive director and chief operations officer at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 2005 to 2008, vice president of student services and dean of student support services at Mission College from 2001 to 2005 and a graduate student researcher at Stanford University from 1997 to 2001. Bersola was assistant dean of admissions at Amherst College from 1995 to 1997, interim director of college counseling and a math teacher at Marin Academy from 1994 to 1995 and director of the California Maritime Academy’s Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement and Minority Engineering Program from 1991 to 1994. He was assistant director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Southern California from 1990 to 1991. Bersola earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in education from the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and a Master of Education degree in education administration, planning and social policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Bersola is a member of the East West Players. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bersola is a Democrat.
Brandy Rose Buenafe, 37, of Citrus Heights, has been appointed to the California Library Services Board. Buenafe has been principal librarian in the Office of Correctional Education at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2014, where she has held several positions since 2007, including senior librarian for Pleasant Valley State Prison and librarian at Corcoran State Prison. She is a member of the California Library Association. Buenafe earned a Master of Library Science degree in library and information science from California State University, San Jose. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Buenafe is a Democrat.
Jane Rozanski, 72, of Camarillo, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Aging, where she has served since 2013. Rozanski was chief executive officer at the Camarillo Health Care District from 1993 to 2015 and executive director at the Camarillo Hospice from 1988 to 1992. She is a member of the Somis Union School District’s Measure S Bond Oversight Committee, a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Camarillo and past chair of the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rozanski is registered without party preference.
Rita Saenz, 67, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Aging, where she has served since 2013. Saenz held several positions at the Xerox Corporation from 2007 to 2016, including director of California governmental affairs, director of communications and director of health and human services. She was chief executive officer at the Academy for Coaching Excellence from 2004 to 2007, director at the California Department of Social Services from 1998 to 2004 and chief executive officer at Maria Nemeth Associates LLC from 1983 to 1998. Saenz served in several positions in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 1981 to 1983, including appointments secretary and special assistant to appointments. She was director of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse from 1978 to 1981. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Saenz is a Democrat.
Jean Schuldberg, 60, of Chico, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Aging, where she has served since 2013. Schuldberg has been director of the Master of Social Work Program at the California State University, Chico School of Social Work since 2006, where she has served in several positions since 1989, including professor, co-director of the Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Education and coordinator of the California Social Work Education Center Mental Health Stipend Program. Schuldberg earned a Doctor of Education degree in international and multicultural education from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Social Work degree in mental health from Indiana University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Schuldberg is a Democrat.
Edward Walsh, 69, of Rancho Mirage, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Aging, where he has served since 2013. Walsh served in several positions at the Riverside County Office on Aging from 2002 to 2012, including director, deputy director and coordinated care program manager. He was acting director of the Senior Care Network and site director for the Multipurpose Senior Service Program and the Los Angeles County Integrated Care Management Demonstration Project at Huntington Memorial Hospital from 1996 to 2002. Walsh was a social work consultant and care coordinator for Medwise Primary Care for Seniors at St. Luke’s Medical Center from 1995 to 1996, supervisor of the Multipurpose Senior Services Program at the AltaMed Health Services Corporation from 1994 to 1995 and a social worker at Huntington Memorial Hospital from 1986 to 1994. Walsh is a member of the Joslyn Senior Center Board of Directors, National Association of Social Workers and the American Society on Aging. Walsh earned a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Walsh is a Democrat.
Kim Haban, 56, of Crescent City, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors. Haban was an animal health and feed sales manager at Crescent City Hay and Feed from 2009 to 2016. She is a 4-H leader for Del Norte County 4-H. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Haban is a Democrat.
Kevin Hartwick, 54, of Crescent City, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2001. Hartwick has been managing partner at Cholwell, Benz and Hartwick since 1987. He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hartwick is a Democrat.
Kara Miller, 62, of Smith River, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2007. Miller has been a member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Tribal Council since 2000 and office manager at Dahlstrom and Watt Bulb Farms Inc. since 1998. She was a retail clerk for Safeway Inc. from 1975 to 1988. Miller is a member of the Wild Rivers Community Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Miller is a Democrat.
Matthew Westbrook, 36, of Smith River, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors. Westbrook has been vice president at Palmer Westbrook Inc. since 2002. He is a member of the Crescent City and Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce, Del Norte Cattlemen’s Association, Del Norte Resource Conservation District, Del Norte County Farm Bureau and the Easter Lily Research Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Westbrook is a Republican.