SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Patrick E. Wright, 59, of Grass Valley, has been appointed Director of the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force. Wright has been Acting Director of the Forest Management Task Force at California Natural Resources Agency since 2020 and Executive Director at the Tahoe Conservancy since 2006. He was Executive Director at the California Bay-Delta Authority from 2003 to 2006, Deputy Secretary for Policy Development at the California Natural Resources Agency from 2000 to 2003 and Senior Policy Advisor to the Regional Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1995 to 2000. Wright earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,772. Wright is a Democrat.
Camille K. Binon, 39, of Sacramento, has been appointed Legal Advisor at the Public Employment Relations Board, where she has served as an Attorney since 2019. Binon held several positions at the California Department of Human Resources from 2016 to 2019 and from 2012 to 2014, including Legal Counsel and Labor Relations Counsel, Legal Secretary and Law Clerk. She was an Associate at Goyette & Associates Inc. from 2014 to 2016. Binon was a Paralegal at the Law Offices of Joseph C. George, Ph.D. from 2010 to 2013 and at the Law Office of Jill P. Telfer from 2008 to 2010. She was a Receptionist and Legal Secretary at Lozano Smith from 2005 to 2008. Binon was a Case Clerk and Litigation Support Personnel at Spherion Corporation from 2004 to 2005. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $123,012. Binon is a Democrat.
Sheena J. Farro, 36, of Sacramento, has been appointed Legal Advisor to the Chair at the Public Employment Relations Board, where she has served as a Regional Attorney since 2015. Farro was a Summer Associate at Boucher Law in 2015. Farro was a Legal Research Assistant at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law from 2014 to 2015. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $129,168. Farro is a Democrat.
Kimberley Johnson, 43, of Sacramento, has been designated Chair of the Early Childhood Policy Council. As Director of the California Department of Social Services, Johnson was appointed to the Council in 2019. Johnson served as Deputy Director of the Family Engagement and Empowerment Division at the California Department of Social Services from 2018 to 2019, Branch Chief of CalWORKS and Child Care from 2017 to 2018 and Branch Chief of Child Care and Refugee Programs from 2015 to 2017. She was Public Policy Director at the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network from 2012 to 2015 and Manager of the Early Childhood Mentor Program at City College of San Francisco from 2009 to 2012, where she was Director of Programs and Training for the Parent Services Project from 2007 to 2010. Johnson was Program Director at the Children’s Network of Solano County from 1999 to 2007. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Johnson is a Democrat.
Heather A. Bernikoff, 50, of Catheys Valley, has been appointed to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Bernikoff has been a Program Officer of Education at The James B. McClatchy Foundation since 2020 and a Self-Employed Consultant since 2017. She was a Consultant for Mariposa County providing service to the American Indian Council of Mariposa County from 2019 to 2020, was Administrative Director at California Small County Collaborative from 2017 to 2020 and Program Director at the California Consumer Protection Foundation from 2002 to 2017. Bernikoff was Program Director at The Special Hope Foundation from 2014 to 2017, Program Manager at California Telehealth and Telemedicine Center from 2000 to 2002 and Senior Health Educator and Program Manager at Contra Costa Health Plan from 1997 to 2000. She is a volunteer on the Outreach and Education Committee of the Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan and American Indian Council of Mariposa County, and an advisor of the Fellowship Program at the Sierra Institute. Bernikoff earned a Master of Science degree in health education from the University of Wyoming. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Bernikoff is a Democrat.
Steven Carnevale, 65, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Carnevale has been Chairman of Sawgrass since 2000. He is Founder of the UCSF Dyslexia Center. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Carnevale is registered without party preference.
Shuo (Shuonan) Chen, 28, of Berkeley, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Chen has been General Partner at IOVC since 2016, a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley since 2010, Faculty at Singularity University since 2017 and Chief Executive Officer of Shinect since 2017. She was an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs from 2013 to 2016 and a Valuation and Capital Markets Consultant and Accounting Advisory Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 2011 to 2012. Chen is a member of the Board of Directors of DECODE, the Google Female Founders Steering Committee and the Advisory Board for the Yale University School of Medicine, Center for Digital Health and Innovation. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.
William F. Honsal III, 48, of Fortuna, has been appointed to the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board. Honsal has served as Sheriff of Humboldt County since 2017, where he was Undersheriff from 2013 to 2017. Honsal was an Investigator at the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office from 2007 to 2013. He held several positions at the Humboldt State University Police Department from 2003 to 2007, including Lieutenant and Sergeant. He was a Patrol Officer at the Eureka Police Department in 2003, was Patrol Officer and Firefighter at the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety from 1996 to 2003 and was a Patrol Officer at the Madera Police Department from 1995 to 1996. He is a board member for the Redwood Teen Challenge and a member of the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Honsal is a Republican.
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