SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Brigid Hanson, 61, of Cameron Park, has been appointed chief of the Office of Labor Relations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where she has been acting chief since 2016 and has served as a retired annuitant since 2015. Hanson held several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2004 to 2014 and from 1997 to 2000, including acting director of the Division of Administrative Services, special assistant to the undersecretary of operations, assistant secretary of labor relations, associate director of human resources, director of administration and operations in the Division of Juvenile Justice, deputy director in the Division of Correctional Health Care Services, assistant secretary and labor relations specialist. Hanson was assistant director in the California Youth Authority’s Office of Safety and Labor Relations from 2002 to 2004, a labor relations manager at the California Department of Education from 2001 to 2002 and a labor relations specialist at the California Department of Transportation from 2000 to 2001. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,288. Hanson is a Democrat.
Alex Traverso, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief of communications at the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation at the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Traverso has been assistant deputy director of corporate communications at the California State Lottery since 2008. He was communications director in the Office of California State Assemblymember Lloyd Levine from 2006 to 2008 and deputy press secretary in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez from 2004 to 2006. Traverso was public relations manager at the California Exposition and State Fair from 2003 to 2004 and assistant press secretary in the Office of the Governor from 1999 to 2003. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $99,300. Traverso is a Democrat.
Zachary Olmstead, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant deputy director of homeless and housing policy at the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Olmstead has been senior assistant in the Office of California State Assemblymember Toni G. Atkins since 2013. He was director for homeless policy at Housing California from 2006 to 2013. Olmstead was a graduate assistant at the California State University, Sacramento Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy from 2005 to 2006 and at the California Student Aid Commission from 2004 to 2006. He was case manager for permanent and short-term housing at St. Vincent De Paul Village from 2002 to 2004 and an employment services specialist at Catholic Charities of Onondaga County from 2001 to 2002. Olmstead earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $104,304. Olmstead is a Democrat.
Sharon Allen, 46, of Los Angeles, has been appointed deputy director of sales and marketing at the California State Lottery. Allen has been an independent consultant since 2016. She was senior vice president of marketing strategy at NBC Entertainment from 2011 to 2015. Allen held several positions at Showtime Networks Inc. from 1999 to 2011, including senior vice president, vice president, senior director, director and manager. She was account executive at Bates USA Advertising from 1998 to 1999 and account manager at Grey Entertainment from 1997 to 1998. Allen was account executive at Anderson and Lembke from 1995 to 1997. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Women in Cable Telecommunications and PromaxBDA. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation $150,000. Allen is a Democrat.
Amy Matecki, 50, of El Sobrante, has been appointed to the California Acupuncture Board. Matecki has been chief of the Integrative Medicine Division at Alameda Health System since 2014, where she has been an attending physician since 2004 and was a chief resident for internal medicine from 2003 to 2004. She has been medical director for complementary and integrative medicine at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center since 2008, where she was an internal medicine hospitalist from 2004 to 2006. Matecki has been a consultant for integrative medicine and an internal medicine hospitalist at Northern California Hematology and Oncology Consultants Inc. since 2004. She was internal medicine hospitalist at Inpatient Consultants of California Inc from 2003 to 2007 and chief resident clinic at the Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center from 2003 to 2004. Matecki is president of the International Center for Integrative Medicine and vice chair of the American Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture’s English Division. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, National Federation of Chinese Traditional Chinese Medicine Organizations, Society for Integrative Oncology, California Medical Association and the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Qingdao University Medical College and a Master of Science degree in traditional Chinese medicine from the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Matecki is registered without party preference.