SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Alice Busching Reynolds, 50, of San Francisco, has been appointed senior advisor to the Governor for climate, the environment and energy in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. She has served as deputy secretary for law enforcement and counsel at the California Environmental Protection Agency since 2011. Reynolds served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2002 to 2011 and was an attorney at Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP from 1998 to 2001 and at Furth Fahrner and Mason from 1995 to 1998. Reynolds served as a research attorney at the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 1993 to 1995. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $172,008. Reynolds is a Democrat.
Fan Dai, 29, of Sacramento, has been appointed special advisor to the Governor on China in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Dai has been a policy fellow in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and in the California Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Secretary since 2014. She was a research affiliate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, China Energy Group from 2013 to 2014. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $92,004. Dai is registered without party preference.
Vivek Viswanathan, 29, of Sacramento, has been appointed special advisor to the Executive Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Viswanathan was a policy advisor for Hillary for America from 2015 to 2016 and a content lead for marketing and communications at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers from 2014 to 2015. He was a summer associate at Google Ideas in 2013 and at McKinsey and Company in 2012, and a legal intern at Microsoft’s Intellectual Property Group in 2011. Viswanathan earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School, a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master of Philosophy degree in historical studies from the University of Cambridge. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $113,004. Viswanathan is a Democrat.
Rei Onishi, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy legal affairs secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Onishi was a White House fellow from 2015 to 2016, serving as senior policy advisor to the assistant secretary in the Office of Public and Indian Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2012 to 2015 and as a law clerk for the Honorable Beverly B. Martin at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2011 to 2012. He was a legislative aide in the Office of California State Senator Joe Simitian from 2005 to 2006, where he served as a capital fellow from 2004 to 2005. Onishi was president of the Buck Scholars Association from 2011 to 2015 and was a member of the American Constitution Society Bay Area Lawyer Chapter Board of Directors in 2015 and the Wu Yee Children’s Services Board of Directors from 2014 to 2015. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $133,008. Onishi is a Democrat.
Catalina Hayes-Bautista, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy legislative secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. She served as deputy secretary for legislative affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2016 to 2017 and was principal consultant on environmental issues in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins in 2015. Hayes-Bautista served as legislative director in the Office of California State Senator Ricardo Lara from 2011 to 2015, as a legislative aide in the Office of California State Assemblymember Fiona Ma from 2007 to 2011 and was a California Latino Legislative Caucus Institute for Public Policy Polanco fellow from 2006 to 2007. She was a development assistant at New America Media from 2004 to 2006. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,322. Hayes-Bautista is a Democrat.
Juan Pedro Gaffney, 79, of Sebastopol, has been appointed to the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board. Gaffney has been director at Coro Hispano de San Francisco since 1975. He was director of Hispanic liturgy at Mission Dolores from 1993 to 2008 and was the first artist-in-residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Gaffney is a vice president of the Instituto Pro Música de California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25,500. Gaffney is a Democrat.
Nancy Gordon, 59, of Scotts Valley, has been appointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services. Gordon has been director at the Santa Cruz County Emergency Services and Santa Cruz County General Services departments since 2008, where she served as a deputy director from 1986 to 2008 and as an administrative analyst from 1984 to 1985. She was an adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy from 1990 to 1995 and an independent consultant from 1986 to 2005. Gordon was communications director at the Santa Cruz County Emergency Services Department from 1985 to 1986. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from San Jose State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Gordon is a Democrat.