SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Kimberley Johnson, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed director of the California Department of Social Services. Johnson served as deputy director of the Family Engagement and Empowerment Division at the California Department of Social Services from 2018 to 2019, branch chief of CalWorks and Child Care from 2017 to 2018 and branch chief of Child Care and Refugee Programs from 2015 to 2017. She was public policy director at the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network from 2012 to 2015, manager of the early childhood mentor program at City College of San Francisco from 2009 to 2012, where she was director of programs and training for the parent services project from 2007 to 2010. Johnson was program director at the Children’s Network of Solano County from 1999 to 2007. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $207,849. Johnson is a Democrat.
Jessica Blonien, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief counsel at the Board of Parole Hearings at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. She served as supervising deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2008 until 2019, where she was a deputy attorney general from 1998 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $179,760. Blonien is registered without party preference.
Peter Stern, 43, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California State Lottery Commission. Stern has been senior vice president of corporate development at Inxeption since 2017. He was airport commissioner for the San Francisco International Airport from 2010 to 2019. Stern was chief revenue officer at Skedulo from 2015 to 2017 and chief revenue officer at AutopilotHQ Inc. from 2013 to 2015. He was vice president of enterprise corporate sales at Salesforce.com from 2007 to 2011 and regional manager at Oracle Corporation from 2004 to 2007. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Stern is registered without party preference.
###