SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Mark W. Owens, 56, of Carmichael, has been appointed chief counsel in the Office of Systems Integration at the California Health and Human Services Agency, where he has been senior legal counsel since 2014 and was an attorney from 2012 to 2014. Owens served in several positions at the California Department of Social Services from 2001 to 2012, including attorney specialist and staff counsel. He was an attorney at the California Department of Business Oversight, Division of Corporations in 2001, business development counsel at 3Com Corporation from 2000 to 2001 and corporate and securities counsel at Gray, Cary, Ware and Freidenrich from 1999 to 2000. Owens was an associate at Boutin, Dentino, Gibson, Di Giusto and Hodell from 1996 to 1999 and president at Industrial Friction Supply Company Inc. from 1984 to 1993. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,720. Owens is a Republican.
Carole Snyder, 53, of West Covina, has been appointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services. Snyder has been program manager of emergency preparedness at PIH Health Hospital, Whittier since 2009, where she has held several positions since 2003, including educator and staff nurse for the Emergency Department. She was a charge nurse in the White Memorial Medical Center Emergency Department from 1994 to 2002, a sexual assault nurse examiner at Mission Community Hospital from 1996 to 1998 and staff nurse in the Beauregard Memorial Hospital Emergency Department from 1993 to 1994. Snyder is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association. She earned a Master of Science degree in emergency management administration from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Snyder is registered without party preference.
Danny Hawkins, 52, of San Jose, has been reappointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, where he has served since 2011. Hawkins has been a senior systems administrator for the San Jose Evergreen Community College District since 1997. He was systems manager in the Santa Clara University Office of Undergraduate Admission from 1988 to 1997. Hawkins is a member of the California School Employees Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Hawkins is a Democrat.
Tony Thurmond, 47, of Richmond, has been appointed to the State Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Intervention. Thurmond has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2014. He was youth education director at the Lincoln Child Center from 2012 to 2014. Thurmond was a member of the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education from 2008 to 2012 and the Richmond City Council from 2005 to 2008. He earned Master of Law and Social Policy and Master of Social Service degrees from Bryn Mawr College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Thurmond is a Democrat.
Libby Woolford, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the State Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Intervention. Woolford has been a realtor at Coldwell Banker since 2011. She was a realtor at Lyon Real Estate from 2006 to 2010, a swim coach and private swim instructor at Sutter Lawn Swim and Tennis Club from 2005 to 2010 and a teacher for St. Hope Public Schools from 2004 to 2005 and for the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2002 to 2004. She is president of the Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome Foundation, a member of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Community Foundation Board and a member of the Sutter Lawn Tsunamis Board. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Woolford is a Democrat.
Carly Bailey Dierkhising, 33, of Santa Monica, has been appointed to the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Dierkhising has been an assistant professor at the California State University, Los Angeles School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics since 2014. She was a graduate student researcher at the University of California, Riverside from 2009 to 2014 and held several positions at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress from 2008 to 2013, including special program manager for juvenile justice and service systems program coordinator. Dierkhising was an adjunct professor at the California Lutheran University from 2008 to 2009 and a clinical intern at the Los Angeles County Probation Department from 2007 to 2008. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in developmental psychology from the University of California, Riverside. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Dierkhising is a Democrat.
Darin Bradbury, 48, 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. Bradbury has been chief deputy warden at Pelican Bay State Prison since 2015 and has served in several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2001, including correctional counselor, facility captain and associate warden. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bradbury is a Democrat.
Robert Cochran, 69, 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. Cochran has been an attorney in private practice since 1975. He is a member of the Lighthouse Repertory Theatre and the Crescent City Rotary. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Cochran is a Democrat.
Ernest Silva, 78, of Smith River, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 1984. Silva was operations manager at Reservation Ranch from 1967 to 2001. He is a member of the Del Norte County Farm Bureau and the Smith River Community Services District. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Silva is a Republican.
Richard Taylor, 66, of Crescent City, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association, Del Norte County Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 1997. Taylor has been an independent certified public accountant since 1977. He is a member of the Crescent City Rotary. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Taylor is a Republican.