Longtime public servant Genevieve Shiroma is Governor Newsom’s pick to join the CPUC
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced appointments to the state’s energy policy, planning and utility oversight agencies. The Governor announced the following appointments:
Genevieve Shiroma, 64, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission. Shiroma has been a member of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board since 1999, serving as chair since 2017 and from 2011 to 2014 and 1999 to 2006. Shiroma served as chief of the Air Quality Branch at the California Air Resources Board from 1990 to 1999 and as an air quality engineer from 1978 to 1990. From 1999 to 2018, Shiroma was the elected director of Ward 4 of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $153,689. Shiroma is a Democrat.
Severin Borenstein, 61, of Orinda, has been appointed to the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors. Borenstein has been professor at the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business since 1996. He was a professor of economics at the University of California at Davis from 1989 to 1996, and an assistant professor of economics at the University of Michigan from 1983 to 1989. Borenstein served as staff economist for the United States Civil Aeronautics Board from 1978 to1979. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,000. Borenstein is a Democrat.
Mary Leslie, 59, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors. Leslie has been president of the Los Angeles Business Council since 2002 and was a commissioner at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power from 2001 to 2003. Leslie served as deputy mayor to Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan from 1994 to 1995. She was also the deputy director for the U.S. Small Business Administration and executive director for the California Economic Development Commission. Leslie was the California finance director for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,000. Leslie is a Democrat.
David Olsen, 72, of Ventura, has been reappointed to the California Independent System Operator Board of Governors, where he has served since 2012. Olsen was the managing director for the Western Grid Group from 2003 to 2013 and served as coordinator for the California Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative for the California Energy Commission from 2007 to 2010. He was a coordinator for the Tehachapi Collaborative Study Group from 2005 to 2007. Olsen was president of Clipper Windpower Development from 2001 to 2003 and CEO at Patagonia Inc. from 1996 to 1999. He was vice president of Magma Power Company from 1988 to 1995 and president and CEO of Northern Power Systems from 1984 to 1988. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,000. Olsen is a Democrat.
David Hochschild, 47, of Berkeley, has been reappointed to the California Energy Commission, where he has served since 2013. Hochschild was vice president of external affairs at Solaria Corporation from 2007 to 2013. He was executive director at PV Now from 2005 to 2007, and co-founder and director of policy at the Vote Solar Initiative from 2002 to 2005. Hochschild was special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown from 2000 to 2001 and program director at The President’s Award, Port Alfred, South Africa from 1996 to 1997. Hochschild served as a member of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission from 2007 to 2008. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $153,689. Hochschild is a Democrat.
The Governor today also announced three appointments to the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery.
The five-member commission was established within the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research as a result of last year’s Senate Bill 901 and requires that the commission hold public meetings with the purpose of evaluating the short- and long-term costs of catastrophic wildfire to the state, and prepare a report including recommendations for changes to the law that would address these costs and ensure equitable distribution among affected parties. The Governor appoints three members to the commission while the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint one member.
Dave Jones, 57, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery. Jones served as the California Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his service as Insurance Commissioner, Jones served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2001 to 2010 and of the Sacramento City Council from 1999 to 2001. He was Counsel to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno from 1996 to 1998, as well as White House Fellow to the U.S. Attorney General from 1995 to 1996. From 1989 to 1995, Jones was an attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, representing low-income families and individuals in affordable housing, civil rights and other legal matters. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Jones is a Democrat.
Michael A. Kahn, 69, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery. Kahn has been of counsel at Crowell and Moring LLP since 2009 and was senior counsel at Folger Levin and Kahn LLP from 1979 to 2009. Kahn served as Chair of the California Independent System Operator from 2001 to 2005, Chair of the California Electricity Oversight Board from 2000 to 2001, member of the California State Insurance Commissioner Task Force on Environmental Liability Insurance from 1993 to 1994, member of the California State Insurance Commissioner Task Force on Insurance Industry Practices in 1993 and Commissioner on the California State Senate Commission on Property Tax Equity and Revenue in 1990. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Kahn is a Democrat.
Carla Peterman, 40, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery. Peterman served as a member of the California Public Utilities Commission from 2013 to 2018. She served as a member of the California Energy Commission from 2011 to 2012. Peterman was a researcher at the University of California Energy Institute from 2006 to 2011, researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2008 to 2010, and a business analyst at Isles from 2004 to 2005. Peterman was an associate in the Investment Banking Division at Lehman Brothers from 2002 to 2004. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley and Master of Science in environmental change and management and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Oxford. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Peterman is a Democrat.
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