Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Caroline Godkin, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary for environmental policy and emergency response at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Godkin has served as deputy secretary for legislation at the California Natural Resources Agency since 2016. She was deputy director for legislation at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from 2011 to 2016 and senior fiscal and policy analyst at the Legislative Analyst’s Office from 2008 to 2011. She was associate consultant at NewPoint Group Management Consultants from 2006 to 2008, senior consultant at Anite PS Consulting from 2002 to 2004, and a consultant at Arthur Andersen Consulting from 1999 to 2002. Godkin earned a Master of Science degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Engineering degree in manufacturing, engineering and management from the University of Cambridge. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,992. Godkin is a Democrat.
Amelia Yana Garcia Gonzalez, 35, of Oakland, has been appointed deputy secretary for environmental justice, tribal affairs and border relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Garcia Gonzalez has served as assistant secretary for environmental justice and tribal affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency since 2016. She was associate attorney at Earthjustice from 2015 to 2016, staff attorney at Communities for a Better Environment from 2013 to 2015 and a legal research attorney at the San Francisco County Superior Court from 2012 to 2013. Garcia Gonzalez was a post-graduate law clerk at Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood, and Harley, A Professional Law Corporation from 2011 to 2012. She is a member of the National Lawyers Guild. Garcia Gonzalez earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,008. Garcia Gonzalez is a Democrat.
Saul Gomez, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy executive director at the California Public Utilities Commission. Gomez has been program officer at the Resources Legacy Fund since 2018. He served as deputy cabinet secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2016 to 2018, as deputy secretary for energy/special assistant for oil, gas and geothermal resources at the California Natural Resources Agency from 2014 to 2016 and as executive director of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority from 2013 to 2014. He was special advisor to California Energy Commissioner Carla Peterman from 2011 to 2012, director of advocacy at the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies from 2009 to 2011, a legislative consultant for the California State Senate in 2008 and a legislative aide in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006. Gomez earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $180,000. Gomez is a Democrat.
Lee Seale, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Board of State and Community Corrections. He has served as chief probation officer of Sacramento County since 2013. Seale was director of internal oversight and research at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2011 to 2013 and deputy chief of staff there from 2008 to 2011. He was special assistant inspector general in the Office of the Inspector General from 2006 to 2008. Seale served as a deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2001 to 2006. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Seale is a Democrat.
