SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Elizabeth Perez, 39, of Vista, has been appointed deputy secretary of minority veterans at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Perez has been president and founder at GC Green Incorporated since 2010. She was a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Delegation in Israel in 2016 and a 2013 White House Veteran Champion of Change. Perez was a director in business development at 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 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 Commerce of California San Diego Chapter, American Legion Post 365 and the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,008. Perez is a Democrat.
Caroline I. Castaneda, 44, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director at the California Department of Developmental Services, where she has been manager of the financial services branch since 2009. Castaneda served as chief for the statewide program administration section at the California Department of Mental Health in 2009, where she was chief of the Medi-Cal benefits operations unit in 2008. She was chief of fiscal services at the California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board from 2007 to 2008, where she was manager of the eligibility and enrollment unit from 2004 to 2007. Castaneda earned a Master of Arts degree in cinema studies from New York University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $119,520. Castaneda is registered without party preference.
Sarah Sharpe, 39, of Fresno, has been appointed technical advisor at the California Public Utilities Commission. Sharpe has been associate director at the Central California Asthma Collaborative since 2016 and director of communication and outreach at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study since 2015. She was environmental health program director at Fresno Metro Ministry from 2008 to 2016, campaign and outreach associate at the Coalition for Clean Air from 2005 to 2008 and a Spanish teacher for the New York City Department of Education. Sharpe was an organizer at Service Employees International Union, Local 250 from 2002 to 2003 and a community organizer at United Farm Workers AFL-CIO from 2000 to 2002. Sharpe earned a Master of Arts degree in Spanish education from Brooklyn College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $140,952. Sharpe is a Democrat.
Christopher V. Downey, 55, of Piedmont, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Disability Access, where he has served since 2013. Downey has been a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley Department of Architecture since 2011 and principal architect at Architecture for the Blind since 2009. He was managing principal at Michelle Kaufmann Designs in 2008, founding partner at Ashdown Downey Architecture and Design from 2003 to 2007 and held several positions at Holt Hinshaw from 1993 to 2003. Downey is president of the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired Board of Directors and a member of the American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter. He earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Downey is a Democrat.
M. Scott Lillibridge, 53, of Auburn, has been appointed to the California Commission on Disability Access. Lillibridge has been a branch manager at Rick Engineering Company since 2016, where he was project engineer from 1990 to 1999. He was a senior forward planner at KB Home from 2015 to 2016, where he was a project manager from 2003 to 2004. Lillibridge was a land development manager at K. Hovnanian Homes from 2013 to 2015, project manager at Marques Pipeline Inc. from 2012 to 2013 and president at C and L Development Solutions Inc. from 2009 to 2012. He was a land development manager at Pardee Homes from 2001 to 2009 and a project manager at Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. from 1999 to 2001. Lillibridge is a member of the American Public Works Association, Urban Land Institute, North State Building Industry Association, California Building Industry Association, National Association of Home Builders, Rotary International and the American Society of Civil Engineers. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lillibridge is a Republican.
Stephanie Landregan, 65, of Glendale, has been reappointed to the State Mining and Geology Board, where she has served since 2015. Landregan has been program director of landscape architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles Extension since 2008. She served as division chief of landscape architecture at the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority from 1999 to 2008 and was a senior landscape architecture associate at Lawrence R. Moss and Associates from 1995 to 1999. Landregan was a landscape architecture designer at Landesign from 1993 to 1995, a planning graphic design associate at the Santa Monica City Planning Department from 1989 to 1993, a museum designer and fabricator at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science from 1985 to 1989 and aerial photography manager at Bohannan Huston Inc. from 1982 to 1985. Landregan was a graphics designer at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology from 1980 to 1982 and a cartographer illustrator at the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources from 1978 to 1979. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Landregan is a Democrat.
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