Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Nathaniel Allen, 55, of Sacramento, has been appointed labor relations officer at the California Department of Human Resources. Allen has served as a labor relations specialist at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2011, where he has held several positions since 2001, including employee relations officer and labor relations analyst. He has served on active reserve in the U.S. Army since 1991 and served active duty from 1981 to 1991.This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $91,176. Allen is a Democrat.
Lynne Ayers Ashbeck, 61, of Clovis, has been appointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Ashbeck has been vice president at Community Medical Centers since 2015. She was regional vice president at the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California from 2006 to 2015, director of global and continuing education at California State University, Fresno from 2003 to 2006 and director of education at the Valley Children’s Hospital from 1997 to 2003. Ashbeck was vice president of program services at the Dairy Council of California from 1978 to 1997. She is a member of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors and the Maddy Institute Board of Directors. Ashbeck is a registered dietitian and earned a Master of Arts degree in peacemaking and conflict resolution from Fresno Pacific University and a Master of Science degree in nutrition from California State University, Fresno. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ashbeck is a Republican.
Itai Danovitch, 40, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Danovitch has been chair of the Psychiatry Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 2012, where he has held several positions since 2008, including director of addiction psychiatry clinical services and associate director of the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. Danovitch was a staff psychiatrist at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital from 2005 to 2007. He is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Psychiatric Association and past president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine. Danovitch earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Management. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Danovitch is a Democrat.
Larry Bruce Poaster, 72, of Modesto, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where he has served since 2007. Poaster was an independent behavioral health consultant from 2002 to 2007. He served in several positions at Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services from 1970 to 2002, including director, clinical director and psychologist. Poaster earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Poaster is a Democrat.
Khatera Aslami-Tamplen, 37, of Fairfield, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served since 2013. Aslami-Tamplen has been consumer empowerment manager at Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services since 2012. She was executive director at Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services from 2007 to 2012 and held several positions at the Telecare Corporation Villa Fairmont Mental Health Rehabilitation Center from 2002 to 2007, including director of rehabilitation. Aslami-Tamplen is chair of the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s Cultural, Linguistic and Competence Committee and of its Client and Family Leadership Committee. She is a founding member of the California Association of Mental Health Peer-Run Organizations. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Aslami-Tamplen is a Democrat.
Tina Wooton, 58, of Santa Barbara, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served since 2010. Wooton has been consumer empowerment manager at the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness since 2009. She was consumer and family member liaison at the California Department of Mental Health and a member of the California Mental Health Services Act Statewide Implementation Team from 2005 to 2009. Wooton was consumer liaison at the Mental Health Association of Sacramento and at the Sacramento County Mental Health Department from 1997 to 2005. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wooton is a Democrat.
