SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Zahra Billoo, 34, of San Jose, has been appointed to the California Civil Liberties Public Education Grant Program Advisory Panel. Billoo has been director at the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations since 2009. She was an employee rights advocacy extern at the National Employment Lawyers Association from 2008 to 2009, where she was a Peggy Browning Fund fellow in 2008. Billoo was a law clerk at Bay Area Legal Aid in 2007 and a field organizer for the Service Employees International Union in 2006. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Billoo is registered without party preference.
Diane Miyeko Matsuda, 55, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Civil Liberties Public Education Grant Program Advisory Panel. Matsuda has been secretary and treasurer at the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation since 2010. She served as executive director at the John Burton Foundation from 2008 to 2016. Matsuda was executive officer at the California Cultural and Historical Endowment from 2004 to 2008, program director at the California Civil Liberties Public Education Grant Program from 1998 to 2004 and coordinator at the Osaka International House Foundation from 1992 to 1997. Matsuda is a member of the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission and the San Francisco Japantown Foundation. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Matsuda is a Democrat.
Dennis M. Robinson, 60, of Watsonville, has been appointed to the California Civil Liberties Public Education Grant Program Advisory Panel. Robinson has been senior philanthropy advisor at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation since 2015 and a philanthropic relationship advisor at Dennis M. Robinson since 1997. He was regional advancement director at the Southern Poverty Law Center from 2012 to 2013 and development director at the St. Francis Medical Center Foundation from 2008 to 2012. Robinson was director of major gifts and planned giving at Chapman University from 2007 to 2008 and chief advancement officer for principal investments at the Arizona State University Foundation from 2006 to 2007. He was associate vice president for institutional advancement at Earlham College from 2005 to 2006, where he was director of major gifts from 2002 to 2005. Robinson was president and chief executive officer at 3Ci Concept Consultants from 1997 to 2002. He was coordinator of the City of Dayton, Ohio Northwest Office of Citizen Participation from 1989 to 1997. Robinson was a program officer at the United Way Area Agency on Aging from 1985 to 1989. He is a member of the Coradorables Inc. Board of Directors. Robinson is an advisor to the chief executive officer of the Real Medicine Foundation and to the chairman of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, USA. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Robinson is a Democrat.
Judith Manzi, 64, of Los Gatos, has been reappointed to the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, where she has served since 2014. Manzi has been senior physician in the Department of Podiatry at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center since 2001, where she was a staff physician from 1998 to 2001. She was a podiatrist in private practice at the Sunnyvale Foot and Ankle Center from 1984 to 1998 and chairman of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine Department of Surgery from 1982 to 1984. Manzi is a fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. She earned a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Manzi is a Democrat.
Maria Cadenas Quiroz, 40, of Santa Cruz, has been reappointed to the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, where she has served since 2017. Cadenas Quiroz has been executive director at Santa Cruz Community Ventures and owner/principal at Cadenas Consulting since 2015. She was senior community involvement manager and philanthropy manager at Driscoll Strawberry Associates from 2011 to 2015. She was executive director at the Cream City Foundation from 2005 to 2011 and associate director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin from 2002 to 2005, a consultant at Accenture from 2000 to 2002 and student activities coordinator at Beloit College from 1997 to 2000. Cadenas Quiroz is a member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and is a volunteer radio host for Radio Bilingue KHDC 90.9 FM, and KZSC 88.1 FM. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Alverno College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Cadenas Quiroz is a Democrat.
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