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

Brantley Choate, 54, of Rocklin, has been appointed director of the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has served as superintendent of correctional education since 2014. Choate was director of inmate educational programs at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department from 2011 to 2014, director of adult education at the Sacramento City Unified School District from 2008 to 2011 and held several positions at the Hayward Adult School from 2007 to 2008, including principal and assistant principal. He founded the Golden Hills School in 1992, where he was principal from 1992 to 2003, and was owner at El Dorado Tutorial Center from 1990 to 1993. Choate was an English as a Second Language teacher for the Liberty Union High School District from 1988 to 1990 and for the Brentwood Union School District from 1987 to 1991. He earned Doctor of Education and Master of Arts degrees in educational leadership from Saint Mary’s College. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,320. Choate is a Republican.

Ryan Souza, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director for program support at the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has been associate director of administrative operations and program support since 2016. Souza served in several positions in the Budget Management Office of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2013 to 2016 and in 2011 and 2009, including chief of budget field operations, assistant chief of technical operations, staff services manager, associate budget analyst and budget analyst. He was a medical contract analyst at Valley State Prison from 2009 to 2011. Souza earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Humphreys University Drivon School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,204. Souza is a Democrat.

Sarah J. Neville-Morgan, 48, of Davis, has been appointed to the California State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care, where she was deputy executive director from 2010 to 2011. Neville-Morgan has been director at the California Department of Education, Early Education and Support Division since 2017. She held several positions at First 5 California from 2013 to 2017 and from 2000 to 2010, including deputy director of the Program Management Division and child development consultant. Neville-Morgan was a child development consultant at the California Department of Education from 2011 to 2013. She was a trainer for the infant and toddler care program at WestEd in 2000 and adjunct faculty for the Foster Care Education Program at Woodland Community College from 1999 to 2000. Neville-Morgan was an academic child development specialist for the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of California, Davis from 1996 to 2000, where she was a head teacher from 1994 to 1996. She was a program assistant and researcher for the California Child Care Initiative Project at the City of Davis Child Care Services from 1995 to 1996 and a head start intern at the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency in 1993. Neville-Morgan is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She earned a Master of Science degree in child development from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Neville-Morgan is a Democrat.

Keyondria D. Bunch, 39, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Bunch has been a clinical psychologist for the Emergency Outreach Bureau at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health since 2016, where she has served in several positions since 2008, including clinical psychologist for the Specialized Foster Care Van Nuys Co-Located Program, clinical psychologist for juvenile justice mental health quality assurance and a clinical psychologist for Valley Coordinated Children’s Services. She was an adjunct lecturer at Antioch University in 2015 and a guest lecturer at the HELP Group in 2007. Bunch was a staff psychologist at Children’s Institute Inc. from 2007 to 2008 and a behavioral therapist at the Beautiful Minds Center for Autism from 2005 to 2006. She held several positions at the University of Southern California from 2002 to 2006, including research assistant, guest lecturer, teaching assistant and disability counselor for disability services and programs. Bunch was a research assistant at Harvard University from 2001 to 2002. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern California and a Master of Education degree in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bunch is a Democrat.

Catherine J. Blakemore, 64, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2007. Blakemore has been executive director at Disability Rights California since 1993, where she was legal director from 1980 to 1993 and managing attorney from 1980 to 1987. She was a part-time assistant professor at California State University, Los Angeles from 1980 to 1992, where she was a lecturer for the Paralegal Training Program from 1978 to 1992. Blakemore was a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles from 1978 to 1980 and at Disability Rights Legal Center from 1977 to 1978. She is vice chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice and member of the California Supreme Court, State Bar Board of Trustees Nominating Committee. Blakemore earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Blakemore is a Democrat.

Robin L. Hansen, 66, of Davis, has been appointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2009. Hansen has been director at University of California, Davis Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities since 2006. She has been a professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine since 2005, where she has been chief of the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Section since 1998, and has been director for clinical programs at University of California, Davis Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute since 2003. Hansen was vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine from 2003 to 2007, where she was an associate professor of clinical pediatrics from 1985 to 2005. She was director of the Child Development Program at University of California Medical Center from 1986 to 1998. Hansen was director of the Nursery Follow-Up Clinic at Kaiser Permanente Medical Group from 1982 to 1989, where she was a pediatrician from 1982 to 1985. She was an instructor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and acting chief of pediatrics at the John F. Kennedy Child Development Center from 1981 to 1982. Hansen is co-chair of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Mentor Match Committee, chair of the University of California, Davis Summer Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disorders Conference Planning Committee and member of the University of California, Davis Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute Executive Committee. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hansen is registered without party preference.

Olivia U. Raynor, 63, of Westlake Village, has been appointed to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, where she has served since 2003. Raynor has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles Jane and Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior since 2009. She has been director at the University of California, Los Angeles Tarjan Center since 2000, where she served in several positions from 1994 to 2009, including co-director, associate director of policy, advocacy and outreach and coordinator of occupational therapy and has been founding director for the University of California, Los Angeles National Arts and Disability Center since 1994. Raynor was administrator and director of the California Employment Consortium for Youth and Young Adults with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities from 2011 to 2017. She is a member of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities Board of Directors, where she was president from 2014 to 2015. Raynor earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in educational psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Arts degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Raynor is a Democrat.

Ardis S. Bazyn, 66, of Burbank, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2013. Bazyn has been president and chief executive officer at Bazyn Communications since 1999. She was a community outreach representative at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in 2004 and a food service manager at Cedar Rapids Post Office Vending from 1984 to 1999. Bazyn is secretary for the California Council of the Blind’s Board of Directors and Students Program. She is second vice president of the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America and a member of its Glendale-Burbank Chapter. She earned a Master of Education degree in arts in teaching from Coe College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bazyn is registered without party preference.

Joseph Cody, 31, of Fresno, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where he has served since 2014. Cody has been director of community resources at Resources for Independence, Central Valley since 2011. He was a case manager at the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Fresno from 2010 to 2011, where he was a programs specialist from 2007 to 2008. Cody was an AmeriCorps VISTA member at HandsOn Central California from 2008 to 2009. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Cody is a Democrat.

Fiona C. Hinze, 27, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2014. Hinze has been systems change coordinator and community organizer at the Independent Living Resources Center San Francisco since 2014, where she was a community activities coordinator in 2014. She was a teaching assistant at the Stanford University Department of Human Biology in 2013 and at the Stanford University Department of Psychology in 2012. Hinze was a research assistant at the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford School of Medicine from 2011 to 2012. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hinze is a Democrat.

Jacqueline M. Jackson, 61, of San Diego, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2013. Jackson has been a guest lecturer at San Diego State University since 2002 and an independent nonprofit management consultant since 1994. She was development director and a consultant at the San Diego Center for the Blind from 2002 to 2004 and director for charter school development at Norman and Norman Inc. from 1996 to 2005. Jackson was an education consultant at the School Futures Research Foundation from 1994 to 1996 and director of education, health and family support services at the Urban League San Diego from 1988 to 1994. She is a member of the San Diego County Committee for Persons with Disabilities, San Diego County Disability Issues Committee, American Council of the Blind, San Diego County Voter Accessibility Committee, Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program’s Equipment Program Advisory Committee, San Diego Braille Club, San Diego Delta Foundation Inc. and the California Council of the Blind. Jackson earned a Master of Arts degree in nonprofit leadership and management from the University of San Diego. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Jackson is a Democrat.

Kimberly Rutledge, 42, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2017. Rutledge has been chief of the Policy and Quality Assurance Branch in the Adult Programs Division at the California Department of Social Services since 2016. She was assistant legislative director at United Domestic Workers of America Local 3930 from 2013 to 2016, where she was a budget and policy analyst from 2012 to 2013. Rutledge was an independent policy consultant at the County Welfare Directors Association from 2011 to 2012 and a graduate intern for disability policy at the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2011. She was a graduate policy intern at the Westside Center for Independent Living from 2010 to 2011. Rutledge is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the American Association of University Women, Sacramento Branch. She earned a Master of Social Welfare degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Affairs. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rutledge is a Democrat.