SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Stephanie N. Welch, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Behavioral Health at the California Health and Human Services Agency. Welch has served as Executive Officer for the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health since 2015. She was Senior Program Manager for the California Mental Health Services Authority from 2011 to 2015. Welch was an Associate Policy Director of at the County Behavioral Health Directors Association from 2007 to 2011. She was Associate Director of Public Policy at the Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies from 2000 to 2005. Welch earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $165,000. Welch is a Democrat.
William A. Brown Jr., 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Human Resources at the Government Operations Agency. Brown has been Chief Human Resources Officer for the Riverbank Unified School District since 2020. He served as Director of Human resources at the West Contra Costa Unified School District from 2017 to 2020. He was Principal at Davis High School in the Davis Joint Unified School District from 2013 to 2017. Brown held several positions at Twin Rivers Unified School District from 1999 to 2013, including Principal at Foothill High School, Vice Principal at Rio Linda High School, Counselor at Norwood Middle School, Outreach Consultant at Rio Linda Junior High School and Football Coach at Grant High School. Brown earned a Master of Science degree in educational counseling from National University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,524. Brown is a Democrat.
Nathan DiPillo, 44, of Loomis, has been appointed Critical Infrastructure Protection Analyst at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. DiPillo has served as Critical Infrastructure Specialist at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since 2017. He was a Training Specialist and Physical Security for the Transportation Security Administration at the Department of Homeland Security from 2002 to 2017. DiPillo was as a Firefighter and EMT for the Nevada County Consolidated Fire Department from 1995 to 1999. He served in several units while enlisted in the California National Guard, State Defense Force from 2008 to 2019 and was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant First Class. He earned a Master of Science degree in homeland security and domestic security management from National University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. DiPillo is registered without party preference.
Todd C. Johnson, 34, of West Sacramento, has been appointed Critical Infrastructure Protection Analyst at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Johnson has served as Training and Organizational Development Section Chief at the Department of Health Care Services since 2017. Johnson has been an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve since 2011. He served as Training Manager at the Department of Health Care Services from 2015 to 2017. Johnson served as Equal Employment Opportunity Analyst at the Department of Food and Agriculture from 2012 to 2015. He served as an Associate Accounting Analyst and Budget Analyst at the Department of Motor Vehicles from 2008 to 2013. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Johnson is registered without party preference.
Michael T. Massone, 51, of Sacramento, been appointed Assistant Director for Response North at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Massone has served as Chief of Headquarters Response at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services since 2020. Massone held multiple positions at the San Diego Federal Fire Department from 1990 to 2020, including Fire Captain, Urban Search and Rescue and Hazardous Materials Specialist. Massone is a member the California Professional Firefighters, where he is immediate past president pro-tem and elected vice president. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,800. Massone is a Democrat.
Christopher Earl, 36, of San Bernardino, has been appointed Southern Small Business Specialist at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Earl has been an independent business consultant at The Commercializer LLC since 2019. He was Executive Director of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at the Riverside Community College District from 2019 to 2020, where he held several other positions from 2012 to 2019, including, Director of the Office of Grants and Contracts, Assistant Director of TriTech Small Business Development, Business Development Administrative Specialist, Marketing and Events Coordinator and Statewide Director of the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. He was Site Coordinator at Think Together from 2011 to 2013. Earl was Project Manager at OmniPlatform Software Corporation from 2010 to 2011. He was a Business Analyst and Consultant for the Army Research Lab in 2009, working as a member of the Integrated Technology Transfer Network hosted at California State University, San Bernardino. He was Business Analyst at Emerging Growth LLC from 2008 to 2009. Earl was a Civil Engineer at the South Carolina Department of Transportation from 2004 to 2008. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Grant Professionals Association, Federal Lab Consortium Minority Business Development Committee, Todd Capital Investment Group and Riverside County Economic Development Alliance. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $99,996. Earl is a Democrat.
Samantha F.V. Arthur, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Water Commission. Arthur has been Working Lands Program Director at Audubon California since 2019, where she has held multiple positions since 2014, including Conservation Project Director and Conservation Project Manager. She was a Strategic Planning and Policy Intern at the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts from 2013 to 2014 and a Land Protection Specialist at Big Sur Land Trust from 2010 to 2012. Arthur earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Arthur is a Democrat.
Alexandre B. Makler, 52, of Berkeley, has been appointed to the California Water Commission. Makler has been Senior Vice President, West Region of Calpine Corporation since 2014, where he has held multiple positions since 1999, including Vice President of Strategic Origination and Development and Vice President/Assistant General Counsel. He was an Associate at Pillsbury Winthrop from 1998 to 1999 and at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle from 1995 to 1998. 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. Makler is a Democrat.
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