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

Oliver Fiehn, 51, of Davis, has been reappointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel, where he has served since 2013. Fiehn has served in several positions at the University of California, Davis since 2004, including professor and associate professor of metabolomics, director of the Genome Center and faculty lead at the Metabolomics Core in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. He was a group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology from 1998 to 2004 and a visiting research scientist at the University of Washington in 1999. Fiehn was a research scientist at the Technical University of Berlin, Department of Water Quality Control from 1994 to 1997. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in analytical toxicology from the Technical University of Berlin and a Master of Science degree in analytical chemistry from the Free University of Berlin. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Fiehn is not registered to vote. 

Ulrike Luderer, 57, of Irvine, has been reappointed to the California Scientific Guidance Panel, where she has served since 2007. Luderer has been a faculty member in the University of California, Irvine Department of Medicine’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine since 1999. She was a senior post-doctoral fellow at the University of Washington, Department of Environmental Health from 1998 to 1999. Luderer is a member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Society of Toxicology, Endocrine Society and the Society for the Study of Reproduction. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in neurobiology and physiology and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Public Health degree in occupational and environmental medicine from the University of Washington. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Luderer is a Democrat.

Sonia Teresita Delen, 61, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the State Bar of California Board of Trustees. Delen has been a senior vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch since 2002, where she has held several positions since 1994, including principal, vice president and assistant vice president. She was a project administrator at GATX Leasing and Capital Corporation from 1986 to 1994 and an account executive assistant at Ketchum Advertising from 1984 to 1986. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50 per diem. Delen is a Democrat.

Scott Alford, 42, of Roseville, has been appointed to the California Sex Offender Management Board. Alford has been a sergeant at the Placer County Sheriff’s Office since 2018, where he has served in several positions since 2012, including detective, bailiff and deputy. As a detective, he oversaw the sex offender registration program. Alford served in several positions at the Auburn Police Department from 2006 to 2012, including sergeant, investigations supervisor, detective and patrol officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Alford is a Republican.

Tina Rodriguez, 41, of Madera, has been appointed to the California Sex Offender Management Board. Rodriguez has been victim services program manager at the Community Action Partnership of Madera County since 2007. She was lead advocate at Sequoia Health Centers from 2004 to 2007, where she was a victim advocate from 1999 to 2004. Rodriguez earned a Master of Science degree in marriage and family counseling from California State University, Fresno. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Rodriguez is registered without party preference.

Mariana C. Stern, 51, of Altadena, has been appointed to the Carcinogen Identification Committee. Stern has been a professor of preventive medicine and urology at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine since 2001. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from 1997 to 2001. Stern is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in cancer biology from the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center and a Master of Science degree in biology from the University of Buenos Aires, School of Science. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Stern is a Democrat.

Michele La Merrill, 39, of Davis, has been appointed to the Carcinogen Identification Committee. La Merrill has been a shared faculty member at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2016 and an associate professor at the University of California, Davis since 2018. She was an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis from 2013 to 2018 and a staff assistant at the Green Chemistry Institute, American Chemical Society from 2002 to 2003. La Merrill earned a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in toxicology from the University of North Carolina. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. La Merrill is a Democrat.

Lora A. Connolly, 65, of Elk Grove, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2012. Connolly has been director at the California Department of Aging since 2012, where she was chief deputy director from 2002 to 2012 and acting director from 2011 to 2012 and from 2004 to 2007. She was assistant secretary for aging and long term care at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2000 to 2002. Connolly served in several positions at the California Department of Health Care Services from 1993 to 2000, including chief for the Office of Long-Term Care, communications coordinator and policy analyst. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Connolly is a Democrat.

Betsey M. Foote, 67, of Porterville, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2016. Foote was a licensed vocational nurse at Lifehouse from 2014 to 2015 and at Maxim Healthcare Services from 2013 to 2014. She was a licensed vocational nurse and charge nurse at the Valley Care Center from 2010 to 2012 and at the Sierra Valley Rehabilitation Center from 2009 to 2010. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Foote is a Democrat.

Marion Lisa Hayes, 56, of Bellflower, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2016. Hayes held several positions at Molina Healthcare Inc. from 2007 to 2017, including associate vice president for managed long-term support services, director of disability and senior access services and manager for provider and contract support services. She was senior project manager for network management contract operations at UnitedHealthcare from 2006 to 2007, where she was a contract manager from 2002 to 2006 and a contract associate from 2000 to 2002. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hayes is a Democrat.

Peter T. Mendoza, 51, of Novato, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where he has served since 2016. Mendoza has been owner at MendozaGo Personal Assistant Services LLC since 2015. He has been director of advocacy and special projects at the Marin Center for Independent Living since 2015, where he was an advocacy team leader from 2014 to 2015. Mendoza was systems change coordinator and a community organizer at the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco from 2013 to 2014 and a program manager and client assistance program coordinator at the Center for Independent Living from 2010 to 2012. Mendoza was a community service officer at the St. Mary’s College of California Public Safety Department from 2001 to 2010 and at the Ross Department of Public Safety from 1996 to 2001. Mendoza was a civilian crime prevention officer at the San Anselmo Police Department from 1994 to 1999, an attendant services advocate specialist at the Marin Center for Independent Living from 1992 to 1993 and an employment counselor at Careers Abound from 1990 to 1992. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mendoza is a Democrat.

Sara Moussavian, 27, of Palo Alto, has been reappointed to the California State Independent Living Council, where she has served since 2014. Moussavian has been an administrative assistant at the U.S. Department of Labor in San Francisco since 2015. She was an after-school program aide at HOPE Services in 2015 and an emerging leader at the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center from 2010 to 2011. Moussavian is a member of the Youth Organizing Disabled and Proud Youth Advisory Council. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Moussavian is registered without party preference.