SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Megan Kirkeby, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant deputy director of fair housing at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, where she has served as a senior policy research specialist since 2015. She held several positions at the California Housing Partnership from 2012 to 2015, including sustainable housing policy manager and policy director. Kirkeby was community equity initiative intern at PolicyLink in 2011 and a policy associate at the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California from 2008 to 2010. Kirkeby earned a Master of Public Policy degree with a concentration in urban and regional planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $105,000. Kirkeby is a Democrat.
Adrienne Go, 54, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the University of California, Hastings College of the Law Board of Directors. Go has been associate general counsel at eBay Inc. since 2007, where she was senior director from 2005 to 2007. She served as a deputy city attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 2005 and was an associate at Morrison and Foerster LLP from 1988 to 1996. Go earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Go is a Democrat.
Jolena M. Grande, 46, of Westminster, has been appointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Grande has been a licensed embalmer at Service Corporation International since 2009. She has been program director and professor for the Mortuary Science Program at Cypress College since 1999, where she was an adjunct instructor from 1995 to 1999. Grande was a licensed embalmer and funeral director at Heritage Memorial Services from 2002 to 2009 and at McCormick and Son Inc. from 1997 to 1999. She held several positions at Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary and at Peek Family Colonial Funeral Home from 1989 to 1994, including licensed embalmer, funeral director and crematory manager. Grande is a member of the National Association of Colleges of Mortuary Science and the American Board of Funeral Service Education. She earned a Master of Science degree in education technology and a Master of Forensic Sciences degree from National University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Grande is a Democrat.
Thyonne Gordon, 55, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Gordon has been an adjunct instructor of nonprofit development at Antioch College since 2017 and an instructor and chief executive officer at Beyond Story Consulting since 2014. She was senior producer at Entertainment Studios in 2016, executive director at CoachArt from 2009 to 2014 and executive director at A Place Called Home Youth Center from 1999 to 2009. Gordon is chair of the Pacifica Graduate Institute Board of Trustees and a member of the Berklee College of Music Advisory Board and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in human and organizational development and a Master of Arts degree in human development from Fielding Graduate University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gordon is a Democrat.
Chris Laszcz-Davis, 68, of Orinda, has been reappointed to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, where she has served since 2017. Laszcz-Davis has been founder and principal at the Environmental Quality Organization LLC since 2002. She held several positions at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation from 1980 to 2002, including vice president of corporate environmental affairs, health, safety and operational integrity, corporate manager of product liability and corporate director of risk assessment, strategy and compliance. Laszcz-Davis was an industrial hygiene engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories from 1976 to 1980 and a regional manager for medical and industrial hygiene programs at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1974 to 1976. She was an environmental, safety and health management intern at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission from 1973 to 1974. Laszcz-Davis earned a Master of Science degree in environmental health sciences from the University of Minnesota. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Laszcz-Davis is a Democrat.
David A. Thomas, 60, of Fairfield, has been reappointed to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, where he has served since 2010. Thomas has been a contract compliance officer at the Northern California District Council of Laborers since 2009. He is a member of the San Joaquin Building and Construction Trades Council. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Thomas is a Democrat.
Mary Beth Garber, 71, of Malibu, has been appointed to the California Private Security Disciplinary Review Committee, South. Garber has been a narrator for audiobooks at Red Hen Press and owner of MBGarber Strategies since 2017. She was executive vice president of media strategy at Katz Media Group from 2011 to 2017, president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association from 1998 to 2011, director of sales and marketing at Mt Wilson FM Broadcasters from 1996 to 1998, local sales manager at KABC Radio from 1993 to 1996, vice president of broadcast media at Walt Disney Studios and Buena Vista Pictures from 1991 to 1993 and senior vice president of sales at Interep Radio from 1981 to 1991. She is a member of California Women Lead, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, Organization of Women Executives, Equal Access International, Variety Children’s Charity of Southern California, Alliance for Women in Media, Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio and the Pitzer College Alumni Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Garber is a Republican.
Lawrence Garcia, 47, of Fresno, has been appointed to the California Private Security Disciplinary Review Committee, North. He has been president and chief executive officer at AmeriGuard Security Services Inc. since 2000. Garcia held several positions at Aztec Global Security Services from 1988 to 2000, including security officer, lead guard and site and area supervisor. He was an emergency room technician at the Valley Children’s Hospital from 1998 to 2000, an emergency medical technician at American Ambulance from 1993 to 1998, a firefighter at the North Central Fire Protection District from 1994 to 1996 and damage controlman second class E-5 for the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 1993. Garcia is a member of the City of Fresno Planning Commission, Western Agricultural Processors Association, Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, Fresno Association of Realtors and the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Garcia is registered without party preference.
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