SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
John Spangler, 49, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary of legislation and government relations at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Spangler has been chief consultant for the California State Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs since 2011. He served as a regulatory program analyst in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009 to 2011. Spangler was a teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2007 to 2009. He served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2002 to 2005, as staff counsel at the Office of the Inspector General from 2000 to 2002 and as staff counsel at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 1998 to 2000. Spangler earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $140,004. Spangler is a Democrat.
Narinderpal K. Sufi, 43, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy state librarian at the California State Library. Sufi has been a volunteer adult literacy development advisor at the Sutter County Library since 2017. She was director of libraries and community development at Luton Culture from 2013 to 2017 and held several positions at the London Borough of Brent’s Department of Libraries, Arts and Heritage from 2003 to 2013, including group library manager, library manager and librarian. She earned a Master of Arts degree in information management from Thames Valley University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Sufi is not registered to vote.
Linda Darling-Hammond, 65, of Stanford, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, where she has served since 2011. Darling-Hammond has been president and chief executive officer at the Learning Policy Institute since 2016 and a professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education since 1998. She was founder of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education in 2008 and of the School Redesign Network of Stanford University in 2000. Darling-Hammond was faculty sponsor for the Stanford Teacher Education Program from 1998 to 2005 and executive director at the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future from 1994 to 2001. She was co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching and a professor at the Teachers College, Columbia University from 1989 to 1998. Darling-Hammond is a member of the National Academy of Education and the American Educational Research Association. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in urban education from Temple University. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Darling-Hammond is a Democrat.
Elizabeth Perez, 38, of Vista, has been appointed to the California Veterans Board. Perez has been president and founder of GC Green Incorporated since 2010. Perez was a director of business development for Xnergy from 2007 to 2011 and a branch manager at Ferguson Contractors from 2005 to 2007. She was an aviation logistics specialist for the U.S. Navy from 1997 to 2005. Perez was a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Delegation in Israel in 2016 and a 2013 White House Veteran Champion of Change. She is a Truman National Security Project fellow and a member of the California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development Initiative Board, Disabled Veterans Business Alliance of California, San Diego Chapter Board, American Indian Chamber of California, San Diego Chapter, American Legion Post 365 and the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Perez is a Democrat.
Nilda Valmores, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Domestic Violence Advisory Council. Valmores has been executive director at My Sister’s House since 2004. She was director for community development at Mercy Housing California from 1999 to 2004 and a development director at Community Resource Project Inc. from 1997 to 1999. Valmores was a project coordinator at the California School Boards Association from 1994 to 1997 and an independent living program specialist at the California Community Colleges Foundation from 1992 to 1994. She was a foster care project manager at the Children’s Research Institute of California from1990 to 1992. Valmores is a member of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and the Soroptimist International of Sacramento. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Valmores is a Democrat.
Kilolo Brodie, 44, of Turlock, has been appointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Brodie has served in several positions for the Master of Social Work Program at California State University, Stanislaus since 2010, including department chair, master of social work program director, director of field education and associate professor. She was an assistant professor at California State University, East Bay from 2008 to 2010, where she was a project coordinator of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend 2004 to 2008. Brodie was a supervised visitation program social worker at the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative in 2004 and a lecturer at the Catholic University of America and at Eastern Mennonite University in 2003. She was a family group conference project manager at Columbia Heights Shaw Family Support Collaborative from 2001 to 2003 and a graduate assistant at Howard University from 2000 to 2001. Brodie served in several positions at the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency Child Protective Services Division from 1998 to 2000, including emergency response intake worker and family reunification case worker. Brodie is a member of the National Down Syndrome Congress, National Association of Social Workers, Stanislaus County Special Education Local Plan Area Community Advisory Committee, California Faculty Association African American Caucus and the California Faculty Association Disabilities Caucus. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in social work from the Howard University School of Social Work and a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Stanislaus. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Brodie is a Democrat.
Shaheen E. Lakhan, 31, of Redlands, has been appointed to the Health Professions Education Foundation Board of Trustees. Lakhan has been chair of neurology at the California University of Science and Medicine since 2016, where he has held several positions since 2015, including associate professor of neurology and medical education and assistant dean of clerkship curriculum. He has been volunteer clinical faculty of neurosciences at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and a volunteer clinical associate professor of neurology at the Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific since 2016. Lakhan has been medical staff for neurology and pain medicine at the City of Hope National Medical Center and at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center since 2015. He has been an instructor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Los Angeles Extension since 2011. Lakhan was a clinical fellow in anesthesia and neurology medical staff at Harvard Medical School and a clinical fellow in pain medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2014 to 2015. He was clinical instructor of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine from 2012 to 2014 and resident physician of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic from 2010 to 2014. Lakhan is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biological sciences from Universidad Central de Nicaragua, a Master of Science degree in biophysical sciences from Touro College and a Master of Education degree in education technology from the University of Southern Queensland. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lakhan is registered without party preference.