SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Raji Brar, 41, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Brar has been owner and operator at Countryside Market and Restaurants since 2003. She served as a member of the Arvin City Council from 2006 to 2008, was an executive assistant at Clinica Sierra Vista from 2001 to 2003 and a chemist at BC Laboratories from 2000 to 2001. Brar earned a Master of Science degree in health care administration from California State University, Bakersfield. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Brar is a Democrat.
Monica Samaniego Hunter, 67, of Los Osos, has been reappointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2005. Hunter has been director of research at PAST Foundation since 2007. She was central coast watersheds program manager at the Planning and Conservation League Foundation from 2004 to 2012, an instructor at the Napa Valley College Social Sciences Department in 2003 and a research assistant at the California Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program from 2000 to 2003. Hunter was a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2001, a consultant for the Morro Bay National Estuary Program in 2000 and a curator at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum from 1996 to 1997. She was an associate curator for the Los Angeles Maritime Museum from 1993 to 1995 and a field assistant and researcher for California State Parks and the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in 1994 and 1991. Hunter was an associate producer at Intellicom Communications Inc. from 1985 to 1990. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Hunter is a Democrat.
Daniel Marcum, 69, of Fall River Mills, has been appointed to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Marcum has been a farm advisor emeritus at the University of California Cooperative Extension since 2013, where he was a farm advisor from 1976 to 2013. He served in the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1971. Marcum earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in plant pathology from the University of California, Davis. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Marcum is a Democrat.
Thomas Davis, 66, of Rancho Mirage, has been reappointed to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2007. Davis has served as chief planning and development officer for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians since 1997. He was a senior associate at David Evans and Associates Inc. from 1995 to 1997 and held several positions at Tierra Planning and Design from 1983 to 1995, including principal, co-owner and president. Davis was an associate at Phillips, Brandt, Reddick and Associates from 1981 to 1983 and at Genge Consultants from 1979 to 1980. He earned a Master of Arts degree in education from California State University, San Bernardino. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Davis is a Republican.
Robert Keith Dyas, 64, of Rosamond, has been reappointed to the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2004. Dyas has been an engineer at Reserve Systems Inc. since 2013. He served in several positions at Edwards Air Force Base from 1984 to 2012, including environmental engineer and civil engineer. Dyas was a mechanical engineer at the Occidental Petroleum Corporation from 1975 to 1984. He earned a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Dyas is a Republican.
James Famiglietti, 56, of Sierra Madre, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Famiglietti has been senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the California Institute of Technology since 2014. Famiglietti was a professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Physical Sciences from 2001 to 2016 and at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Geological Sciences from 1994 to 2001. Famiglietti was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research from 1992 to 1993. He served as a member of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board from 2014 to 2016. Famiglietti earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in civil engineering from Princeton University and a Master of Science degree in hydrology from the University of Arizona. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Famiglietti is a Democrat.
Cynthia Guzmán, 29, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Guzmán has been a senior associate at Estolano, LeSar, Perez Advisors since 2015, where she has held several positions since 2012, including associate and research analyst. She was an intern at the City of Pasadena Planning and Community Development Department in 2011 and a law clerk at Kimball, Tirey and St. John LLP from 2009 to 2010. Guzmán earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Affairs. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Guzmán is a Democrat.
Hector Bedolla, 57, of Healdsburg, has been appointed to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Bedolla has been vineyard manager at North Pacific Vineyard Management since 2016. He was a crop advisor and agronomist at Crop Production Services from 2013 to 2016 and vineyard and ranch manager at Stuhlmuller Vineyards from 2011 to 2013. Bedolla was a consulting viticulturist at Windsor Oaks Vineyards in 2011 and an agricultural biologist in the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in 2010. He was a vineyard manager at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates from 2000 to 2010 and at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars from 1999 to 2000. Bedolla was vice president of vineyard operations at Hambrecht Vineyards from 1995 to 1999. He was vineyard manager at Hambrecht and Peterson Vineyards from 1988 to 1995 and at Iron Horse Vineyards from 1983 to 1988. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Bedolla is a Democrat.
Geoffrey Hales, 44, of Eureka, has been reappointed to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2006. Hales has been a geologist at McBain Associates since 2001. He was a geologist for Kleinfelder Inc. from 1999 to 2001, at Busch Geotechnical Consultants from 1995 to 1999 and at the U.S. Geological Survey in 1995. Hales earned a Master of Science degree in environmental systems from California State University, Humboldt. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Hales is a Democrat.
Lana Ong Peterson, 36, of Orange, has been appointed to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. Peterson has been senior public affairs representative at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center since 2012, where she was senior communications specialist from 2010 to 2012. She held several positions at Cox Communications from 2004 to 2010, including senior communications specialist, communications specialist and public relations coordinator. Peterson was a communications intern at the City of Anaheim Public Utilities Department from 2003 to 2004 and an administrative intern in the San Juan Capistrano City Manager’s Office from 2002 to 2003. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Chapman University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Peterson is registered without party preference.
Daniel Selmi, 66, of Newport Beach, has been appointed to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. Selmi has been a professor of law at Loyola Law School since 1983. He served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1976 to 1983 and as a law clerk for the Honorable Manuel L. Real at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 1975 to 1976. Selmi earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Selmi is a Democrat.
William Von Blasingame, 58, of Irvine, has been reappointed to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2013. Von Blasingame has been a member of the finance committee of the OneOC Board of Directors since 2011. He was senior vice president and general manager of Caribbean Operations at Mirant Energy Company from 2005 to 2007 and held several positions at Edison Mission Energy from 1986 to 2005, including vice president and chief financial officer of the Asia Pacific Region. Von Blasingame earned a Master of Business Administration degree in finance and real estate from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Von Blasingame is a Democrat.
Jayne Battey, 57, of Half Moon Bay, has been appointed to the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. Battey has been facilitator for the Women in Business Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business since 2013 and owner at Miramar Farms since 2012. She was director of land and environmental management at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company from 2009 to 2012, where she was a land planner from 1983 to 1988. Battey was executive director at the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council from 2005 to 2009 and president at Essex Environmental from 1988 to 2005. She earned a Master of Science degree in urban and regional studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Battey is a Democrat.