Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Melinda McClain, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy legislative secretary in the Office of the Governor. McClain was deputy director of legislative and regulatory review at the California Department of Consumer Affairs from 2014 to 2016, a lobbyist at Platinum Advisors from 2006 to 2014 and served as a legislative aide in the Office of California State Senator Kevin Murray from 2003 to 2006. She was a legislative analyst at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from 2001 to 2003. McClain is a member of Leadership California and the California State University, Sacramento Governmental Alumni Association. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $114,192. McClain is a Democrat.
Rosemary Ndoh, 54, of Hanford, has been appointed warden at Avenal State Prison, where she has been acting warden since 2015 and has served in several positions since 2002, including chief deputy warden, associate warden and supervisor of the correctional education program. She was supervisor of academic instruction at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran from 1997 to 2002 and a teacher at California State Prison, Centinela from 1993 to 1997. Ndoh earned a Master of Arts degree in education from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,040. Ndoh is registered without party preference.
Christian Pfeiffer, 43, of Bakersfield, has been appointed warden at Kern Valley State Prison, where he has been acting warden since 2015. Pfeiffer served in several positions at Kern Valley State Prison from 2012 to 2015 and from 2005 to 2008, including chief deputy warden, associate warden, correctional counselor specialist and correctional counselor. He was a classification and parole representative at Wasco State Prison from 2008 to 2012 and served in several positions at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran from 1999 to 2005, including correctional counselor and accounting officer supervisor. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,440. Pfeiffer is a Republican.
Holly A. Thomas, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, has been appointed deputy director of executive programs at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Thomas has been special counsel to the solicitor general at the New York State Attorney General’s Office since 2015. She served as a senior attorney in the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2010 to 2015 and was an assistant counsel at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. from 2005 to 2010, where she was a fellow with the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program from 2005 to 2006. Thomas served as a law clerk for the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2004 to 2005. Thomas earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $133,008. Thomas is a Democrat.
Janine Shimomura, 25, of San Francisco, has been appointed special assistant for communications at the California State Transportation Agency. Shimomura has been vice president of digital at the California Women’s List since 2016. She was project director at WomenCount from 2015 to 2016, a research analyst at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2013 to 2015 and an administrative assistant in the College of Environmental Design Dean’s Office at the University of California, Berkeley from 2011 to 2013. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $49,008. Shimomura is a Democrat.
Sally Grevemberg, 42, of Modesto, has been appointed to the State Interagency Coordinating Council on Early Intervention. Grevemberg has been cofounder and executive director at Behavioral and Educational Strategies and Training since 1999. She was a private contractor at the Valley Mountain Regional Center from 1999 to 2000 and an intern at the University of the Pacific Psychology Clinic from 1998 to 2000. Grevemberg was a behavior specialist at the University of the Pacific’s Community Re-Entry and Collateral Internship programs from 1998 to 1999. She is a member of the California Association for Applied Behavior Analysis, Association of Professional Behavior Analysts and Association for Applied Behavior Analysis International. Grevemberg earned a Master of Arts degree in psychology from the University of the Pacific. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Grevemberg is registered without party preference.
Robert J. Goodwin, 43, of Santa Monica, has been appointed to the California Volunteers Commission. Goodwin has been director of corporate affairs and philanthropy at Mattel Inc. and executive director at the Mattel Children’s Foundation since 2014. He was co-founder and chief executive officer at Executives Without Borders from 2008 to 2014 and chief operating officer at International Aid Inc. from 2007 to 2008. Goodwin was deputy assistant secretary of force management integration for the U.S. Air Force from 2005 to 2007. He was deputy associate director at the White House Office of Presidential Personnel in 2005 and special assistant for stability operations at the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2004. Goodwin was chief of staff and deputy senior advisor for the Iraqi Ministry of Health team as part of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and director of humanitarian affairs for the Sudan Task Force at the U.S. Department of State from 2002 to 2003. He was logistics director and interagency coordinator at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance from 2001 to 2002 and a defense fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2000 to 2001. Goodwin served as program manager, executive officer and communications chief for the U.S. Air Force from 1994 to 1999. He earned a Master of Business for Veterans degree from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Goodwin is a Republican.
Russell Criss, 69, of Macdoel, has been appointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 1978. Criss has been owner at the 4C Cattle Company since 1980. He is a member of the California Farm Bureau, Siskiyou County 4-H, Butte Valley High School Boosters, Youth for Understanding and the California Cattlemen’s Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Criss is a Republican.
Crystal Fine, 36, of Tulelake, has been appointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors. Fine has been rancher at Hall Farms since 2011. She was a patient care technician at Fresenius Medical Care from 2005 to 2012. Fine is a community leader for Tulelake 4-H. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Fine is a Republican.
Greg Herman, 50, of Tulelake, has been reappointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2012. Herman has been a member of the Lassen Canyon Nursery’s Macdoel management team since 2013. He served as agricultural commissioner and sealer for Siskiyou County from 2007 to 2013 and held several positions at the Siskiyou County Agriculture Department from 1992 to 1998, including assistant agricultural commissioner, deputy agricultural commissioner and agricultural biologist. He was feedlot operations manager at Swan Lake Feeders Inc. from 1992 to 1998. Herman is a member of Tulelake 4-H. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Herman is a Republican.
Venancio Hernandez, 61, of Tulelake, has been appointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2002. Hernandez has been a soil technician at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service since 2002. He is a member of the Tulelake Basin Joint Unified School District Board. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hernandez is a Democrat.
Sherry Luscombe, 53, of Tulelake, has been appointed to the 10a District Agricultural Association, Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2006. Luscombe has been a clerk at the U.S. Postal Service since 2000. She was office manager at the Lava Beds Natural History Association from 2001 to 2003, office manager at Henzel Brothers Limited Partnership from 1998 to 1999 and factory worker and cashier at Tulelake Horseradish from 1991 to 1998. Luscombe is a member of Lava Beds Natural History Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Luscombe is a Republican.
Anthony “Ray” Smith, 29, of Auburn, has been appointed to the 20th District Agricultural Association, Gold Country Fair Board of Directors. Smith has been a groundskeeper for Mike Carson Development since 2014. He was a pastry chef at the Winchester Country Club in 2014 and a shop manager at Royce Air from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of Leadership Auburn. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Smith is a Republican.
Robert "Roy" L. Gill, 64, of Dixon, has been reappointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2012 and served from 1992 to 2008. Gill has been co-owner at Reveille Farms since 2009 and was a partner at RC Gill and Son from 1978 to 2008. He is a member of the Solano Land Trust and the Solano County Farm Bureau. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Gill is a Republican.
Richard Hamilton, 55, of Rio Vista, has been appointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2004. Hamilton has been a partner at Hamilton Bros since 1983. He is a member of the American Sheep Industry, California Wool Growers Association, Rio Vista Farm Bureau Center California Sheep Commission, Napa Solano Farm Service Committee, University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Stakeholders Advisory Committee and California Polytechnic State University Animal Science Advisory Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hamilton is a Republican.
Dana Martin, 45, of Vacaville, has been reappointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2012. Martin has been a co-owner at Dixon Florist and Gift Shop since 1984. She is a member of the Dixon Downtown Business Association and Dixon Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Martin is a Democrat.
Lloyd McCabe, 64, of Dixon, has been appointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors, where he has served since 2007. McCabe has been an adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis since 2003 and administrator at the California Department of Education, Agriculture Education Unit since 2011, where he served as a senior policy consultant from 1989 to 2011. He was chair at the Chowchilla Union High School District Agriculture Department from 1977 to 1989 and at the Santa Paula Union High School District Agriculture Department from 1976 to 1977. McCabe was an agriculture teacher for the Antelope Valley Union High School District from 1975 to 1976. He is a member of the California Wool Growers Association, California Agricultural Teachers’ Association and the American Association for Agricultural Educators. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. McCabe is a Republican.
Samuel Thompson, 68, of Vallejo, has been appointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors. Thompson has been an agent at the Farmers Insurance Agency since 2014. He is a member of the Solano Association of Realtors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Thompson is a Democrat.
Jill Turner, 48, of Dixon, has been appointed to the 36th District Agricultural Association, Dixon May Fair Board of Directors, where she has served since 2004. Turner has been a sales representative at Farmers Best Feed since 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Turner is a Republican.
Robert “Steve” Brown, 33, of Kelseyville, has been appointed to the 49th District Agricultural Association, Lake County Fair Board of Directors. Brown has been an attorney at Crump, Bruchler and La Velle since 2010. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Empire College School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Brown is registered without party preference.
Sarah Ishida, 29, of Granada Hills, has been appointed to the 51st District Agricultural Association, San Fernando Valley Fair Board of Directors. Ishida has been a teacher at Canoga Park High School since 2009. She is a member of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ishida is a Democrat.
