Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Jeff McGuire, 55, of Elk Grove, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of General Services. McGuire has been deputy director at the Board of Equalization since 2010, where he has served in several positions since 1983, including tax policy chief, tax auditor, policy specialist, taxpayer’s rights advisor, business resumption coordinator, internal audit administrator and policy advisor. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,344. McGuire is registered without party preference.
Sherri Gastinell, 50, of Elk Grove, has been appointed deputy secretary of administrative services at the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Gastinell has been assistant personnel officer at the Department of Consumer Affairs since 2015. She was chief of the Office of Business and Economic Opportunity at the Department of Transportation from 2008 to 2015, staff services manager at the Department of Consumer Affairs from 2006 to 2008 and labor relations analyst at the Bureau of Automotive Repair from 2002 to 2006. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $125,460. Gastinell is a Republican.
Cindy Messer, 46, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant chief deputy director at the California Department of Water Resources. Messer has been deputy director of the Planning, Performance and Technology Division at the Delta Stewardship Council since 2012. She was assistant executive officer at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy from 2010 to 2012. Messer held several positions in the Division of Environmental Services at the Department of Water Resources from 1999 to 2010, including senior environmental scientist, environmental program manager, section chief and environmental scientist. She earned a Master of Science degree in conservation biology from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $147,836. Messer is a Democrat.
Eric Berg, 49, of Concord, has been appointed deputy chief of health in the Division of Occupational Safety and Health at the California Department of Industrial Relations, where he has been principal safety engineer since 2015 and served in several positions since 1997, including acting principal safety engineer, senior safety engineer, associate safety engineer, associate industrial hygienist and assistant industrial hygienist. He was a graduate student assistant at the Santa Clara Center for Occupational Safety and Health from 1996 to 1997, a graduate assistant at the California Department of Public Health from 1994 to 1996 and an organizer at United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO from 1993 to 1994. Berg was a volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps from 1991 to 1993. He earned a Master of Public Health degree in environmental health engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,044. Berg is a Democrat.
Debra Lee, 55, of Monrovia, has been appointed deputy chief of safety in the Division of Occupational Safety and Health at the California Department of Industrial Relations, where she has been a regional manager since 2012 and has served in several positions since 1994, including district manager, associate industrial hygienist and assistant industrial hygienist. She was industrial hygienist at Northrop Corp from 1992 to 1994, an environmental specialist at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from 1990 to 1992 and an industrial hygienist at Health Science Associates from 1987 to 1990 and at TRW Electronics from 1985 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,048. Lee is a Democrat.
