Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom Thursday announced the following appointments:

Rohan C. Radhakrishna, 40, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health. Radhakrishna has served as Co-Chair of the Health Equity Committee at the California Conference of Local Health Officers since 2019 and Deputy Health Officer at Contra Costa Health Services since 2018. He was Chair of the Department of Family and Adult Medicine at Contra Costa Health Services from 2015 to 2019. Radhakrishna was a Public Health Consultant with the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2007 and UNICEF in 2006. He was Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador at Doctors Without Borders from 2004 to 2005 and worked for Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health after being a Fulbright Scholar from 2002 to 2003. Radhakrishna is a fellow and alumni board member of the California Health Care Foundation. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, San Francisco and Master of Public Health and Master of Science degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $168,756. Radhakrishna is a Democrat.

Jeremy A. Avila, 34, of San Jose, has been appointed Chief Counsel at the Department of Aging. Avila has been Deputy County Counsel at the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office since 2019. He served as a Deputy District Attorney at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office from 2014 to 2019 and at the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office from 2012 to 2014. Avila was an Intern in the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation for the U.S. Domestic Policy Council at the White House in 2010. He served as a Law Clerk for the Civil Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California in 2010. Avila was a Judicial Extern at the Second District Court of Appeal in 2009 and an Intern in U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Office in 2006. Avila is a member of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, William A. Ingram American Inn of Court, Santa Clara County Bar Association, Santa Clara County La Raza Lawyers Association and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $164,004. Avila is a Democrat.

Connie Nakano, 43, of Elk Grove, has been appointed Assistant Director of Communications at the Department of Aging. Nakano has been Assistant Deputy of Communications at the California Transportation Commission since 2020. She was a Public Information Officer at the California Department of Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2020. Nakano was a Senior Marketing Specialist at the California Earthquake Authority from 2009 to 2017. She was a National Interactive Account Manager at the Sacramento Bee from 2008 to 2009. Nakano was an Advertising Account Manager at KMAX TV from 2004 to 2007 and at Valley Yellow Pages from 2002 to 2004. She was a Sales and Marketing Coordinator at KQCA 58 from 2000 to 2002. Nakano was a Graphic Artist at UPN 31 from 1998 to 2000 and a Promotion Assistant at KSFM 102.5 from 1997 to 1999. Nakano is a member of the Asian American Journalist Association and Families for Early Autism Treatment. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $117,000. Nakano is a Democrat.