Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 9.1.20


SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Ali Bay, 48, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director for the Office of Communications at the California Department of Public Health. Bay has served as Deputy Director at the California Department of Developmental Services, Office of Legislation, Regulations and Public Affairs since 2018. She served as Deputy Press Secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2017 to 2018, Deputy Director for the Office of Public Affairs at the California Department of Public Health from 2016 to 2017 and as Press Secretary in the Office of State Senator Mark Leno from 2008 to 2016. She was Communications Manager at Equality California from 2006 to 2008, a Reporter and Photographer at Capital Press Ag Weekly Newspaper from 1999 to 2006 and a self-employed Writer and Photographer from 1995 to 2006. Bay was a Spanish Instructor at C.K. McClatchy High School from 1997 to 1998, Editor at Musico Pro & Recording Magazine from 1996 to 1997 and a Reporter and Photographer at Costa Rica Today in 1995. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $151,116. Bay is a Democrat.

Corey Egel, 47, of Sacramento, has been reappointed Assistant Deputy Director in the Office of Public Affairs at the California Department of Public Health, where he has served since 2016. He was an Information Officer at the California Department of Public Health from 2012 to 2016. Egel was an Information Officer at the California Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016. He was a Market Intelligence Analyst at e.Republic Inc. from 2011 to 2012 and a Promotions Producer at KXTV-TV from 2010 to 2011. Egel was Media Center Director at the California Exposition and State Fair in 2009 and in 2010. He was a Freelance Producer at KOVR-TV from 2009 to 2010 and at CBS Network News from 1995 to 1997. Egel was a Producer at KCRA/KQCA-TV from 2005 to 2008 and at KXTV-TV from 1999 to 2005. He was a News and Special Projects Producer at KVUE-TV from 1997 to 1999. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $101,472. Egel is registered without party preference.

Amar Mehta, 39, of San Francisco, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Statewide Mental Health Program at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he has been Acting Deputy Director of the program since 2020. Mehta has held several positions at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, including Statewide Chief of Telepsychiatry from 2019 to 2020 and Staff Telepsychiatrist from 2013 to 2019. He was also the Acting Lead Chief Psychiatrist at High Desert State Prison from 2015 to 2017. Mehta was Site Director for Residency Training and Content Expert Teaching Faculty at the California Pacific Medical Center from 2014 to 2020. He was a Forensic Psychiatry Fellow at the New York State Office of Mental Health from 2012 to 2013 and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow at Montefiore Medical Center from 2010 to 2012. Mehta earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from New York Medical College. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $412,560. Mehta is registered without party preference.

Vicky Waters, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed Special Advisor to the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Waters has served as Press Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2019. Waters was Press Secretary at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2016 to 2019. She was Vice President of Public Affairs at Ogilvy Public Relations from 2015 to 2016 and Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the California Department of Parks and Recreation from 2012 to 2015. Waters was Director of Media Relations at the California Charter Schools Association from 2009 to 2012 and an Account Executive at BPcubed Inc. from 2007 to 2009. She was a Freelance Journalist, Independent Public Relations Consultant and Translator from 2003 to 2009. Waters was Sacramento Correspondent at La Opinión from 2001 to 2003, an Anchor, Reporter and Producer at Univision Sacramento from 2000 to 2001, Evening Anchor, Reporter and Producer at Univision Corpus Christi from 1998 to 2000 and News Editor and Broadcast Operator at WRAL-TV from 1996 to 1998. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,000. Waters is a Democrat.

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