SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Don Sherman, 61, of Elk Grove, has been appointed Program and Risk Mitigation Officer for the California Employment Development Department. Sherman has been Chief of Contract and Vendor Management for the California Department of Health Care Services since 2019. He held multiple positions at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2014 to 2019 and 2010 to 2014, including Special Advisor, Contracts and Negotiations Liaison and Chief of the Contract Policy and Management Branch. He was Deputy Director of Plan Management for Covered California in 2014, Chief of Public Agency and the Schools Health Benefit Contracts Section for CalPERS from 2008 to 2010 and Board Manager for the ScholarShare Investment Board from 2005 to 2008. Sherman was Treasury Program Manager II for the California Pollution Control Financing Authority from 2003 to 2005 and Chief of Public Outreach and Quality Assurance for the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning from 1999 to 2003. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Sherman is a Democrat.
Jamie Callahan, 35, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief of Staff and Policy Advisor to the Chair for the California Air Resources Board. Callahan has served as Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2019. She served as Chief Executive Officer of the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit. Callahan was Director of External and International Affairs for the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2015 to 2019, where she served in various roles from 2011 to 2015. Callahan earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the George Mason University School of Policy and Government. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $176,532. Callahan is a Democrat.
Daniela Simunovic, 37, of Los Angeles, has been appointed Senior Advisor on Environmental Equity for the California Air Resources Board. Simunovic has been Senior Policy Director for Better World Group since 2019. She was Senior Program Analyst for the California Strategic Growth Council from 2016 to 2019, Deputy Director of Environmental Health and Justice for the Liberty Hill Foundation from 2013 to 2016 and Research Analyst for Estolano Advisors from 2012 to 2013. Simunovic was Campaign Director and Community Organizer for the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment from 2006 to 2010. She is a member of the American Planning Association. Simunovic earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Simunovic is registered without party preference.
M. Scott Lillibridge, 57, of Rocklin, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Disability Access. Lillibridge has been Assistant Vice President at RICK Engineering Company since 2016. He was Senior Forward Planner at KB Home from 2015 to 2016. Lillibridge was a Land Development Manager at K. Hovnanian Homes from 2013 to 2015. He was Project Manager at Marques Pipeline from 2012 to 2013 and a Full Partner at C&L Development Solutions Inc. from 2009 to 2012. He was Land Development Manager at Pardee Homes from 2001 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2009. Lillibridge was Project Manager at KB Home from 2003 to 2004 and a Project Manager at Kimley-Horn and Associates from 1999 to 2001. He was Project Manager at RICK Engineering Company from 1990 to 1999. Lillibridge is a member of the North State Building Industry Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Public Works Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, Urban Land Institute, and Rotary International. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lillibridge is a Republican.
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