SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Shereen D’Souza, 43, of Oakland, has been appointed Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency. D’Souza has been an Environmental Protection Specialist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 since 2019. She was a Consultant from 2017 to 2019 and 2010 to 2013, a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. Department of State from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the California Food and Justice Coalition from 2008 to 2010. D’Souza was Program Manager of Oakland Based Urban Gardens from 2004 to 2007 and a Volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Honduras from 2001 to 2004. She earned a Master of Environmental Science degree from Yale University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $164,160. D’Souza is a Democrat.
Caroline Thomas Jacobs, 48, of El Cerrito, has been appointed Director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety at the California Natural Resources Agency. Thomas Jacobs has been Director of the Wildfire Safety Division at the California Public Utilities Commission since 2019. She served in several positions in the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services from 2014 to 2019, including Chief of Response Headquarters Operations and Statewide Data Sharing Coordinator. She was Regional Project Manager for the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative at the California Resiliency Alliance from 2013 to 2014 and East Bay Hub Planner at the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Services Division in 2013. Thomas Jacobs was a Consultant for Emergency Preparedness Services from 2010 to 2013 and a Senior Manager for Worldwide Apple Retail Service from 1999 to 2007. Thomas Jacobs earned a Master of Arts degree in women’s studies from San Francisco State University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $191,016. Thomas Jacobs is a Democrat.
Zoe Heller, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director for Policy Development and Analysis at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Heller has been Assistant Director of Policy Development for the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery since 2017. She held multiple positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 from 2012 to 2017, including Manager of the Zero Waster Section, Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator and Environmental Protection Specialist in the Environmental Justice Section. Heller was a Research and Policy Analyst for the Center for Neighborhood Technology from 2004 to 2006. She earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Roosevelt University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,456. Heller is a Democrat.
Francesca Negri, 59, of West Sacramento, has been reappointed Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, where she has served in that position since 2016. Negri was Chief at the California Department of Transportation, Division of Procurement and Contracts from 2010 to 2016. She was Chief of Human Resources at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2009 to 2010 and held several positions at the California Department of Transportation from 1998 to 2009, including Assistant Chief of the Division of Human Resources, Office Chief of Classification and Hiring, Branch Chief of Return to Work and the Workers’ Compensation Program, and Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $184,488. Negri is a Democrat.
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