SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Deanna Ping, 30, of Oakland, has been appointed chief deputy director of the California Department of Industrial Relations. Ping has served as a director of market development at Merit International since 2019. She was a finance budget analyst at the California Department of Finance from 2015 to 2016. Ping was a committee consultant at the California State Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations from 2012 to 2015. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $154,380. Ping is a Democrat.
Michele Martinez, 40, of Santa Ana, has been appointed to the California Transportation Commission. Martinez has been founder and consultant at Emergent P4 Advisors since 2020. She has served as a part-time adjunct professor at Santiago Canyon College since 2016. Martinez was community and strategic planning development director at Primestor Development from 2019 to 2020. She was executive director at OneOC Alliance for a Healthy OC from 2010 to 2019. Martinez served as a member of the Santa Ana City Council from 2006 to 2018. She was human resource director at Conquest America from 2006 to 2008. Martinez volunteers as a special master at the Office of U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Martinez is a Democrat.
Nancy C. Miller, 66, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors. Miller has been a partner at Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP since 2015. She was president of Miller, Owen & Trost from 1992 to 2015, where she was principal and shareholder from 1983 to 1991 and a partner from 1979 to 1982. Miller is a member of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law Board of Trustees and the KVIE Public Television Board of Directors. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Miller is a Democrat.
Lynn Schenk, 75, of San Diego, has been reappointed to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors, where she has served since 2004. Schenk, a lawyer in private practice, was Chief of Staff to Governor Gray Davis from 1999 to 2004. She was a United States Congresswoman from 1993 to 1995. She was a San Diego Port Commissioner from 1989 to 1993. Schenk held the positions of Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency from 1977 to 1983. She recently served on the Board of Directors of Sempra Energy and Biogen. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Schenk is a Democrat.
Anthony C. Williams, 52, of Huntington Beach, has been appointed to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors. Williams has served as legislative affairs secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2019. He was director of national strategy and engagement at the Boeing Company from 2014 to 2019. Williams was policy director and special counsel in the California State Senate from 2010 to 2014. He was a founding partner at Wada Williams Law Group from 2007 to 2010. Williams was director of government affairs at the State Bar of California from 2004 to 2007. He was a policy consultant at the California State Senate from 1999 to 2004. Williams was a legislative advocate for the Office of Government Affairs at the Judicial Council of California from 1994 to 1999. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Williams is a Democrat.
###