Governor Newsom Appoints New Deputy Cabinet Secretaries and Director of Scheduling

SACRAMENTO — Newly sworn-in Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the addition of several highly-accomplished public servants to Executive Branch Operations within the Governor’s Office.

Governor Newsom had previously announced Ana J. Matosantos as Cabinet Secretary, Jason Elliott as Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Executive Branch Operations, and Angie Wei as Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Policy Development. Today, he announced:

Jamie Callahan, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary. Callahan previously served as Director of External and International Affairs in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2015 to January 2019, where she was Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary from 2013 to 2015. Callahan served as the Chief Executive Officer of the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit. Before that, she was a Legislative Assistant at The Crane Group and a Research Assistant for the British Parliamentary Labour Party. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $166,404. Callahan is a Democrat.

Richard Figueroa, 60, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary. Previously, Figueroa was Director of Prevention for The California Endowment, the nation’s largest state-specific health care foundation. He served in several previous administrations, including as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Deputy Legislative Secretary for Governor Gray Davis. Richard was also Legislative Director for Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and served as a Legislative Consultant for the California State Senate Insurance and Budget and Fiscal Review Committees. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,004. Figueroa is a Democrat.

Christine Hironaka, 31, of San Francisco, has been appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary. Hironaka has most recently served as Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). Prior to joining CalEPA, Christine served as Assistant Director for Policy Development at the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), where she previously served as Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs. She also served as a legislative assistant in the Office of State Senator Mark Leno, and as a capital fellow in the Office of State Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,000. Hironaka is a Democrat.

Sonya Logman, 30, of Antelope, has been appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary. Logman was most recently the Deputy Secretary for Business and Consumer Relations at the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. She was the Director of External Affairs at the California Exposition and State Fair in Sacramento from 2013 to 2015 and was Deputy Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. from 2011 to 2013. From 2006 to 2010, she served four administrations in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $130,008. Logman is a Democrat.

Daniel Seeman, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Cabinet Secretary. Most recently, Seeman served as deputy legislative secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., where he advised on matters related to criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections and the judiciary. Prior to working for Governor Brown, he served as a legislative consultant to State Senator Mark Leno, working on criminal justice issues, as well as privacy and technology. He also worked for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on legislation relating climate. He began his career at the State Capitol as a legislative aide to State Senator Fran Pavley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Seeman is a Democrat.

Nettie Sabelhaus, 71, of Sacramento, has been appointed Special Advisor on Public Safety. Sabelhaus previously served as a Special Advisor on Appointments and Public Safety for Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Prior to that, she held roles as Appointments Director for the Senate Rules Committee, Deputy Director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento, Director of the Senate Fellows Program, Chief of Staff to Senator Barry Keene, consultant to Assembly Majority Consultants, legislative aide to U.S. Senator Alan Cranston, research assistant for the International Union of Radio, Electric and Machine Operators, AFL-CIO, and research aide to the National Sharecroppers Fund. This is a part-time position and does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation $81,897. Sabelhaus is a Democrat.

Emily Swide, 25, of Sacramento, has been appointed Director of Scheduling for the Governor. Most recently, she served as Director of Scheduling and Advance for Governor-elect Newsom’s Transition and the Newsom for Governor campaign. Before that, she worked for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf on her re-election campaign and managed the successful campaign of Shanell Williams for Board of Trustees at City College of San Francisco. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100,008. Swide is a Democrat.

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