Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:

Panorea Avdis, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), where she has served as chief deputy director since 2012. Avdis was chief of staff in the Office of Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna from 2010 to 2012, director of external affairs at the California Department of Housing and Community Development from 2007 to 2010 and a project manager at AKT Development Corporation from 2004 to 2007. She served in several positions in the Office of Governor Gray Davis from 1998 to 2003, including advance staff and special assistant to the Governor. Avdis is a custodian of archives for Governor Gray Davis and a member of the California State University, Sacramento Hellenic Outreach Program Board of Directors, Angelic Board of Directors and the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $143,040. Avdis is a Democrat.

Will Koch, 39, of Mather, has been appointed chief deputy director at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), where he has served as deputy director of the California Competes Tax Credit Program since 2014 and was deputy director of legislative and inter-governmental affairs from 2012 to 2014. Koch served in several positions at the California Franchise Tax Board from 1998 to 2012, including legislative analyst, personal income tax technical advisor, tax collection specialist and tax collector. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $127,788. Koch is a Democrat.