SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Monica Miller, 54, of Gold River, has been appointed deputy chief, Homeland Security Division in the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Miller has been special agent in charge for the Sacramento Field Office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 2013, where she has held several positions since 1989, including section chief for the Counterintelligence Division, an assistant special agent in charge for the Atlanta Field Office, unit chief of the Transfer Unit, supervisory special agent for the Washington Field Office and special agent. Miller was a counterintelligence special agent for the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1988. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $158,004. Miller is a Republican.
Thomas McKone, 66, of Albany, has been reappointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel, where he has served since 2007. McKone has been a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley since 2016 and senior advisor at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2015, where he has held several positions in the Energy and Environmental Impacts Division since 1996, including senior scientist and deputy of research programs. McKone was a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health from 1996 to 2015 and a research engineer at the University of California, Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology from 1992 to 1995. He was a staff scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Division of Health and Ecological Assessment from 1983 to 1995. McKone was a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1987 to 1988 and a post-doctoral fellow at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards from 1981 to 1983. McKone is a member of the International Society of Exposure Science, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Society for Risk Analysis. He earned Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. McKone is a Democrat.
Penelope Quintana, 58, of San Diego, has been reappointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel, where she has served since 2013. Quintana has been a professor of public health and environmental health at the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health since 2014, where she has held several positions since 1995, including graduate advisor for the Master of Public Health and global health Doctor of Philosophy degree programs and associate and assistant professor. She was an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia from 1992 to 1994 and a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Indoor Environment Program from 1991 to 1992. She is a member of the International Society of Exposure Science. Quintana earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in environmental health sciences from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Public Health degree in occupational and environmental health from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Quintana is a Democrat.
Jose Suarez, 37, of Encinitas, has been appointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel. Suarez has been an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego since 2013. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota from 2010 to 2013, where he was a research assistant from 2006 to 2013. Suarez earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of San Francisco, Quito and Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Public Health degrees in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Suarez is a Democrat.
Sanjay Ranchod, 42, of Albany, has been appointed to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Ranchod has been director of business development and policy and counsel at Tesla since 2017. He was vice president of policy and electricity markets and regulatory counsel at SolarCity from 2011 to 2017. Ranchod was an attorney at Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP from 2005 to 2011 and at Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP from 2003 to 2005. Ranchod served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jeremy Fogel at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California from 2002 to 2003. He was an associate at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP from 2001 to 2002. Ranchod was a high school teacher at the Zonnebloem NEST School in South Africa in 1998 and a district representative in the Office of California State Senator Byron Sher in 1997, where he served as a capital fellow from 1996 to 1997. Ranchod earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ranchod is a Democrat.
Sandra Massa-Lavitt, 74, of Seal Beach, has been appointed to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy. Massa-Lavitt has served as mayor of the City of Seal Beach since 2016 and as a member of the Seal Beach City Council since 2014. She was a contract planner for the City of Lake Elsinore from 2005 to 2008, a community development director for the City of La Habra Heights from 2003 to 2005, interim director of planning and building for the City of South Pasadena in 2003, a planning director for the City of Calimesa from 1998 to 2003, interim director of community development for the City of Manhattan Beach from 1999 to 2000 and interim planning manager for the City of El Segundo from 1998 to 1999. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $75 per diem. Massa-Lavitt is a Democrat.
Jorge Morales, 42, of South Gate, has been appointed to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy. Morales has been a senior strategist at Ek, Sunkin, Klink and Bai LLC since 2016 and has served as a member of the South Gate City Council since 2011. He was vice president of business development at the Meruelo Group from 2013 to 2016. He served as legislative deputy in the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina from 2008 to 2013, chief of staff in the Office of Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education member Yolie Flores from 2007 to 2008 and as a legislative aide in the Office of California State Assemblymember Marco Firebaugh from 2001 to 2004. He is a member of the League of California Cities Board of Directors and chair of the California Contract Cities Association Legislative Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $75 per diem. Morales is a Democrat.
Liz Reilly, 69, of Duarte, has been appointed to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy. Reilly has been a member of the Duarte City Council since 2011. She has been a resource specialist program instructional aide for the Duarte Unified School District since 1992 and was a tearoom manager at Bullock’s Pasadena from 1979 to 1989. Reilly is a registered dietician. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $75 per diem. Reilly is a Republican.
James O’Rourke, 46, of Shingle Springs, has been appointed to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. O’Rourke has been a sergeant at the California Highway Patrol since 2007 and served as a California Highway Patrol officer from 1998 to 2007. O’Rourke is supervisory director for the California Association of Highway Patrolmen. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. O’Rourke is a Republican.
Ryan Cheung, 35, of Chico, has been reappointed to the 3rd District Agricultural Association, Silver Dollar Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2014. Cheung has been a certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner at Ryan Cheung, CPA since 2015. He was a business consultant at Morrison & Company from 2014 to 2015, an instructor at California State University, Chico in 2016 and a manager at Matson and Isom from 2007 to 2014. Cheung was a baker at Winchell’s Donut House from 1997 to 2006, bookkeeper at Wright Mortgage Company in 2006 and a web developer and computer technician at Nord Avenue Mini Storage in 2005. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, California Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Butte County Farm Bureau. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Cheung is registered without party preference.
Stacey Giezentanner, 45, of Chico, has been reappointed to the 3rd District Agricultural Association, Silver Dollar Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2005. Giezentanner has been owner and president at Ampersand Building & Land Company since 2013. She was president at Stacey Giezentanner Real Estate Development from 2004 to 2006 and a sales representative at Merck Pharmaceuticals from 2000 to 2004. Giezentanner is a member of the Chico Community Scholarship Association and a founding member of the Pleasant Valley High School Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Giezentanner is a Republican.