SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Jennifer Hogan, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director of hazard mitigation at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Hogan has served as hazard mitigation assistance branch chief and state hazard mitigation officer at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services since 2016. She was human resources – health, safety, and labor relations chief at the California Air Resources Board from 2014 to 2016. Hogan was risk management branch chief at the California Department of State Hospitals from 2010 to 2014. She was an associate governmental analyst at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from 2009 to 2010. Hogan held multiple positions at the Ak–Chin Police Department from 2000 to 2007, including emergency management coordinator, communications supervisor and police dispatcher. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,692. Hogan is a Democrat.
Meredith Williams, 57, of San Francisco, has been appointed director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control, where she has served as acting director since 2019 and as deputy director of safer products and workplace programs since 2013. Williams held several positions at the San Francisco Estuary Institute – Aquatic Science Center from 2006 to 2013, including interim executive director, deputy director, program director of the environmental data, information and technology program and senior project manager. She held various positions at Applied Materials from 1995 to 2005, including, business operations manager, product manager, new product development manager and senior process engineer. She was a senior research physicist at 3M from 1994 to 1995. Williams earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in physics from North Carolina State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $190,004. Williams is a Democrat.
Kristin García, 36, of Berkeley, has been appointed special counsel to the State Labor Commissioner at the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. García has been a deputy legal secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2019. She was an attorney at Altshuler Berzon LLP from 2014 to 2019, and a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 2013 to 2014. She was a legislative assistant in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs from 2009 to 2010. García earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,084. García is a Democrat.
Eliana Kaimowitz, 41, of Davis, has been appointed chief of immigration and refugee programs at the Department of Social Services. Kaimowitz has served as immigrant integration executive fellow at the Department of Social Services since 2018. She was immigration integration executive fellow in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2017 to 2018. Kaimowitz was a senior research analyst at Service Employees International Union California from 2015 to 2017. She was senior researcher at the Center for Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia) from 2013 to 2014. Kaimowitz was a staff attorney and equal justice fellow at the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation from 2009 to 2012. She was an associate at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw and Pittman LLP from 2008 to 2009. Kaimowitz was survey research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California from 2002 to 2004. She is a member of the Multi-Cultural Community Council. Kaimowitz earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $128,352. Kaimowitz is a Democrat.
Abby Snay, 68, of San Francisco, has been appointed deputy secretary for Future of Work at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Snay has been chief executive officer of Jewish Vocational Services since 1984, where she served in multiple positions from 1975 to 1984, including assistant director, supervisor and counselor. She is a member of the California Workforce Development Board, the California State Rehabilitation Council and a board member of the National Skills Coalition. Snay earned a Master of Arts degree in education from Washington University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,008. Snay is a Democrat.
Michael Younger, 35, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed deputy secretary for strategic planning and equity at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Younger has been assistant division chief of enterprise strategy and performance at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System since 2017 and was section chief in 2016. He was a strategic planning analyst at the California Department of Insurance from 2015 to 2016 and a senior manager of business strategy at AT&T Mobility from 2007 to 2015. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $138,504. Younger is a Democrat.
Daniel Yu, 29, of Cupertino, has been appointed associate secretary of strategic enforcement and partnerships at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Yu served in several positions at the Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement from 2015 to 2019, including assistant chief, senior deputy labor commissioner, and deputy labor commissioner. Yu earned a Juris Doctor degree at the New York University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $137,100. Yu is a Democrat.
Hal Geiogue, 78, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Student Aid Commission, where he has served since 2012. Geiogue was chief consultant to the California State Assembly Education Committee from 1995 to 2002 and served as assistant state treasurer at the California State Treasurer’s Office from 1991 to 1995. He was principal program analyst in the California Legislative Analyst’s Office from 1975 to 1990, where he was a higher education consultant from 1967 to 1975, and a budget analyst at the California Department of Finance from 1965 to 1967. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree in government from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Geiogue is a Democrat.
John Sovec, 58, of Altadena, has been appointed to the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Sovec has been a clinical consultant and trainer for Los Angeles Shanti since 1988 and for the Life Group Los Angeles since 2005. He has been a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice since 2008 and adjunct faculty of postmodern studies at Phillips Graduate Institute since 2012. Sovec is a member of the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, the Life Group Los Angeles advisory board, the Mountain AIDS Foundation advisory board, and the Red Ribbon Foundation advisory board. He earned a Master of Arts degree in psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sovec is a Democrat.
Armando Lopez, 73, of Oxnard, has been appointed to the 31st District Agricultural Association, Ventura County Fair Board of Directors. Lopez has been owner of the Armando Lopez Company since 1984. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lopez is registered without party preference.
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