Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 7.26.19

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Stewart Knox, 51, of West Sacramento, has been appointed undersecretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Knox has been executive director of the California Employment Training Panel since 2014. He was director of health and human services for Nevada County in 2014 and director of economic and workforce development for San Mateo County from 2013 to 2014. Knox was director of the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium from 2008 to 2013 and executive director of the North Central Counties Consortium from 2006 to 2008. He was director of workforce for the City of Glendale from 2004 to 2006 and for Yuba Community College from 1997 to 2004. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $177,144. Knox is registered without party preference.

Yungsuhn Park, 40, of Los Angeles, has been appointed chief deputy secretary for strategic enforcement and initiatives at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Park has been special assistant to the Labor Commissioner’s Office at the California Department of Industrial Relations since 2013. She was adjunct faculty at Loyola Law School in 2013 and a staff attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. Park 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 $164,508. Park is a Democrat.

Marc Pilotin, 39, of Oakland, has been appointed general counsel at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Pilotin has been counsel for wage and hour litigation at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor since 2018, where he served as a trial attorney from 2015 to 2018. He was a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law from 2016 to 2019. Pilotin was an associate at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein from 2011 to 2015 and a law clerk for the Honorable Claudia Wilken at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California from 2009 to 2011. He was a teacher at the Ninety-Sixth Street Elementary School from 2004 to 2006 and administrative director of the UCLA Center for American Politics and Public Policy from 2001 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2005. Pilotin earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Master of Education degree from the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $182,400. Pilotin is a Democrat.

Marguerite Sweeney, 68, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, where she has served since 2012. Sweeney was an attorney at the Law Offices of Marguerite Sweeney from 1989 to 2012, a partner at Sweeney and Sweeney from 1982 to 1989 and an associate attorney at Baker and Cornell from 1979 to 1982. She was a teacher at the Junipero Serra School from 1974 to 1975. She is a member of Girls Incorporated of Northern Sacramento Valley. Sweeney earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $159,068. Sweeney is a Democrat.

Alejandra Casillas, 39, of Redondo Beach, has been appointed to the Medical Board of California. Casillas has been an assistant professor of medicine in residence at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research since 2016. She has been an attending primary care physician at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine in the internal medicine suites since 2016 and teaching faculty at the Simms Mann clinic since 2016. Casillas is a founding member of the First Generation Advisory Board at the University of California, Los Angeles and a member of the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine Diversity and Equity Inclusion Committee and the Association of American Medical Colleges National Workgroup on First Generation College Graduates in Medical School. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Harvard School of Medicine and a Master of Science degree in health services research from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Casillas is a Democrat.

Dev GnanaDev, 69, of Redlands, has been reappointed to the Medical Board of California, where he has served since 2011. GnanaDev has been chairman of the Department of Surgery at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center since 1989, a clinical professor of surgery at the Western University of Health Sciences since 1995 and an associate professor of surgery at Loma Linda University since 1993. He was founding president of the California University of Science and Medicine from 2012 to 2019. GnanaDev was president of the California Medical Association from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of the California Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American College of Surgeons. GnanaDev earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Kurnool Medical College. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. GnanaDev is registered without party preference.

Richard Thorp, 70, of Chico, has been appointed to the Medical Board of California. Thorp has been president and chief executive officer at Paradise Medical Group since 2001. He was an internal medicine physician and medical director for Butte County for the California Medical Foundation from 1994 to 2000 and internal medicine physician at Richard E. Thorp MD Inc. from 1981 to 1994. Thorp is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, California Medical Association and the Butte-Glenn County Medical Association. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Thorp is registered without party preference.

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