SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the appointment of Josh Fryday as California’s Chief Service Officer, leading California Volunteers.
“Josh is a leader with a lifelong commitment to service and will be an invaluable partner as we work to increase service and volunteerism in California,” said Governor Newsom. “I look forward to working with Josh to develop innovative service and volunteer opportunities, and forge vibrant new public-private partnerships that lift up communities throughout the state.”
Josh Fryday, 38, of Novato, has been appointed Chief Service Officer at California Volunteers, effective September 1, 2019. Fryday has been president of Golden State Opportunity since 2016. He was chief operating officer of NextGen Climate from 2013 to 2016. Fryday served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 2009 to 2013. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $209,943. Fryday is a Democrat.
The Governor also announced the following appointments today:
Avital Barnea, 32, of Washington, D.C., has been appointed deputy secretary for transportation planning at the California State Transportation Agency. Barnea has been program manager for freight at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials since 2014. She previously served as a policy analyst & grants manager in the Office of the Secretary at the United States Department of Transportation from 2014 to 2019, as a presidential management fellow at the United States Senate Committee on Finance in 2012, and as a community planner at the Federal Transit Administration from 2011 to 2014. She was a research assistant at the State & Local Policy Program at the University of Minnesota and on staff at the Metro Transit Control Center in Minneapolis from 2010 to 2011. Barnea was a research assistant at the University of Minnesota’s Public & Nonprofit Leadership Center from 2009 to 2010. She earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of Minnesota. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Barnea is a Democrat.
Lori Pepper, 41, of Washington, D.C., has been appointed deputy secretary for innovative mobility solutions at the California State Transportation Agency. Pepper has been senior federal policy specialist at Honda North America Inc. since 2016. She was a litigation paralegal at Anastopoulo Law Firm from 2015 to 2016. Pepper served as deputy director of floor operations in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012, director of policy and outreach for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science & Technology and deputy chief of staff in the Office of Congressman Baron Hill from 2007 to 2009. She was director of government relations at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association from 2005 to 2007, a legislative assistant and case manager in the Office of Congressman Albert Wynn from 2002 to 2005 and campaign manager for Albert Wynn for Congress in 2002. Pepper was a legislative aide in the Office of Maryland State Delegate Paul Carlson from 2000 to 2002. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,000. Pepper is a Democrat.
Martha Eugenia Dominguez, 42, of Elk Grove, has been appointed deputy director of external affairs and media relations for the California Complete Count – Census 2020. Dominguez has been a health program manager at the California Department of Public Health since 2016. She is a member of the Association of Public Health and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists. Dominguez earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in public health and a Master of Arts degree in community health from the Walden University as well as a Master of Arts degree in cultural studies from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,000. Dominguez is a Democrat.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, 28, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant deputy director of external affairs and media relations for the California Complete Count – Census 2020. Crofts-Pelayo has been lead public information officer for the California Complete Count – Census 2020 since 2018. She was communications director for Senator Ed Hernandez from 2016 to 2108 and digital media strategist for Yes on LP for La Puente – Ballot Measure Committee in 2018. Crofts-Pelayo was a member consultant for the Senate Democratic Caucus for Senate President Pro Tempore in 2015, media consultant for the Senate Democratic Caucus for Senate President Pro Tempore in 2014 and a Senate fellow for Senator Kevin de Leon from 2012 to 2013. She is a member of the Puente Project, California Latino Capitol Association and Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $110,700. Crofts-Pelayo is a Democrat.
Emilio Vaca, 40, of Kings Beach, has been appointed deputy director of outreach for the California Complete Count – Census 2020. Vaca has been president of Vaca Consulting LLC since 2014. He was field director and labor and Latino organizer for Jessica Morse for Congress in 2018 and director of field operations for JPMM Inc. from 2012 to 2016. He was executive director of the North Tahoe Family Resource Center from 2008 to 2012 and development coordinator for the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation from 2006 to 2007. He is a member of the North Tahoe Business Association and the Friends of Tahoe Truckee Waldorf. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $132,000. Vaca is a Democrat.
Alicia Wong, 44, of Elk Grove, has been appointed chief deputy director of the California Complete Count – Census 2020. Wong has been operations program manager and chief of staff of California Complete Count – Census 2020 since 2018. She held multiple positions at the California Department of Technology, including special projects director from 2017 to 2018, chief of the enterprise planning and project portfolio management branch from 2016 to 2017, projects communications manager from 2013 to 2016 and policy manager in 2013. Wong is a member of the Asian Pacific State Employee Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $138,000. Wong is a Democrat.
Daphne Lamson Hunt, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary of legislative affairs at the California Health and Human Services Agency. Hunt has been chief consultant for the California State Assembly Committee on Human Services since 2016, where she served as senior consultant from 2015 to 2016. She was deputy director of the California State Senate Office of Research from 2014 to 2015, where she was policy consultant on human services from 2012 to 2014. Hunt held several positions at the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, including senior research analyst from 2009 to 2012 and research analyst from 2007 to 2009. Hunt was an adjunct professor at Salem State University from 2006 to 2007 and consulted as a program evaluator for the Boston Public Health Commission from 2005 to 2007. She earned a Master of Arts degree in social policy from the Heller School of Brandeis University and a Master of Science degree in community development from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $155,256. Hunt is a Democrat.
Jana Ellingson-Kegel, 37, of Sacramento, has been appointed legal advisor for the Public Employment Relations Board. Ellingson-Kegel has been staff attorney for the Legal Division of the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 since 2013. She was a negotiator for the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 from 2011 to 2013, where she was a union representative from 2010 to 2011. She was a law clerk and advocate for Disability Rights Wisconsin from 2008 to 2009 and a paralegal and receptionist for the Social Security Division of Hoglund, Chwialkowski, & Mrozik from 2004 to 2007. Ellingson-Kegel earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $127,800. Ellingson-Kegel is a Democrat.
Lande Ajose, 52, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Advisory Selection Committee for the Regents of the University of California. Ajose has been senior advisor on higher education in the Office of the Governor since 2019. She previously served on the California Student Aid Commission from 2014 to 2019, where she served as Chair for two years. She was executive director of California Competes from 2015 to 2019, where she served as deputy director from 2011 to 2015, and was senior vice president of the Opportunity Institute from 2015 to 2017. She was managing director for Informing Change from 2006 to 2011, a research associate for MDRC from 2005 to 2007 and a senior program officer for the James Irvine Foundation from 2001 to 2005. Ajose earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Public Policy degree in urban and regional studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ajose is a Democrat.
Joseph “Joey” Freeman, 28, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Advisory Selection Committee for the Regents of the University of California. Freeman has been chief deputy legislative affairs secretary for policy in the Office of the Governor since 2019. He was special consultant for the transition of Governor-elect Newsom from 2017 to 2018 and policy director for Newsom for California Governor from 2017 to 2018. He was chief policy consultant and Southern California director for the Office of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom from 2014 to 2017. Freeman was special assistant to the executive chairman of the leadership committee for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organizing Committee from 2014 to 2015 and political director and deputy communications director for Wendy Greuel for Congress in 2014. He was a fellow for the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs from 2013 to 2014, a summer associate for M Strategic Communications in 2013 and was on the board of the University of California Student Association from 2011 to 2012. Freeman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Freeman is a Democrat.
Negar “Nikki” Noushkam, 44, of Rancho Palos Verdes, has been appointed to the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board. Noushkam has been senior project manager at Environmental Remediation Services Inc. since 2007 and chief engineer for the Aerospace Corporation since 2015. Noushkam held several position at Northrop Grumman from 2004 to 2015, including senior principle engineer, project manager and lead systems and photovoltaic design engineer. She was security assessor lead and project manager for Hudson Marine Management Services from 2001 to 2004. Noushkam was environmental project manager and process engineer at ExxonMobil Oil Corporation from 1997 to 2001. She is a member of the State Mining and Geology Board at the Department of Conservation. Noushkam earned a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Noushkam is a Democrat.
H. Kit Miyamoto, 55, of Davis, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where he has served since 2011. Miyamoto has been president of nonprofit Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief since 2011 and a global CEO of Miyamoto International since 1997. Miyamoto earned a Doctor of Engineering degree in structural engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Miyamoto is registered without party preference.
Fuad Sweiss, 60, of Santa Ana, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where he has served since 2013. Sweiss has been executive director of the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency since 2018. He was the city engineer and deputy director of public works for the City and County of San Francisco from 2009 to 2018, president at Access Design and Construction from 2006 to 2008 and served in various positions at the City of Oakland Department of Public Works from 1988 to 2006, including as engineering design manager. Sweiss is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Works Association, Construction Management Association of America and the United States Green Building Council. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sweiss is a Democrat.
Andrew Tran, 50, of San Gabriel, has been reappointed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, where he has served since 2017. He has been senior vice president of property underwriting at Swiss Re America since 2015, where he has held several positions since 2000, including senior vice president of property pricing, deputy chief underwriting officer, senior vice president of natural catastrophes and U.S. treaty, vice president of structured reinsurance pricing and vice president of pricing and reserving actuary. Tran was an actuarial analyst for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company from 1994 to 1996 and an actuarial analyst for Sullivan Insurance Broker from 1992 to 1993. Tran is a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society, American Academy of Actuaries, Institutes Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society, and a scout leader for the Boy Scouts of America. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Tran is a Republican.
Keshia Sexton, 35, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy Governing Board. Sexton has been a part time lecturer at the California State University Dominguez Hills since 2017 and deputy director of organizing at Mothers Out Front since 2019. She was senior lead field representative for Congresswoman Karen Bass from 2011 to 2013 and director of organizing at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust from 2013 to 2019. Sexton earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sexton is a Democrat.
Mike Wilson, 51, of Arcata, has been appointed to the California Coastal Commission. Wilson has been county supervisor for the County of Humboldt, District 3, since 2017. He was owner and project engineer for HWR Engineering and Science from 1994 to 2017. He was an ecological engineer for Stillwater Sciences from 2014 to 2016. Wilson was an environmental engineer for the Humboldt County Division of Environmental Health from 1995 to 1996 and a staff environmental engineer for Tetra Tech from 1994 to 1995 and for Woodward Clyde Consultants from 1990 to 1992. Wilson earned a Master of Science degree in environmental systems engineering from Humboldt State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wilson is a Democrat.
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