SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Christopher Lief, 53, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of facility planning, construction and management at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Lief has been assistant program budget manager of capital outlay at the California Department of Finance since 2015, where he held several positions from 2004 to 2015, including assistant program budget manager of higher education, assistant program budget manager of general government, principal program budget analyst of corrections capital outlay and budget analyst. He was an auditor at the Bureau of State Audits from 2001 to 2004. Lief was a hazardous substances scientist at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 1993 to 1999. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree in accounting and management science from the University of California, Davis. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $177,120. Lief is a Democrat.
Craig Koenig, 53, of Soledad, has been appointed warden of the Correctional Training Facility, Soledad, where he has served as acting warden since 2018. Koenig was a correctional administrator at San Quentin State Prison from 2015 to 2017. He held several positions at the Sierra Conservation Center from 1996 to 2015, including captain, lieutenant, sergeant and correctional officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $162,024. Koenig is a Republican.
Nicole Hisatomi, 27, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislation at the California Department of Business Oversight. Hisatomi has been legislative director for the Office of Assemblymember Mark Stone since 2017, where she was a legislative aide from 2015 to 2017 and an Assembly fellow from 2014 to 2015. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $110,160. Hisatomi is a Democrat.
Gideon Kracov, 48, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board. Kracov has been owner of the Law Office of Gideon Kracov since 2004. He was a member of the State Mining and Geology Board at the Department on Conservation from 2014 to 2018. Kracov served as a deputy city attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2004 and was an associate at Rose, Klein, & Marias LLP from 1997 to 2002 and at Weston Benshoof LLP from 1995 to 1997. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Kracov is a Democrat.
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