SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
E. Joaquin Esquivel, 39, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum. Esquivel has been a member of the State Water Resources Control Board since 2017 and Chair since 2019. He was Assistant Secretary for Federal Water Policy at the California Natural Resources Agency from 2015 to 2017, Research Assistant, Legislative Aide, and Legislative Assistant for Native American, Water and Agriculture Issues and Director of Information and Technology in the Office of United States Senator Barbara Boxer from 2007 to 2015. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Esquivel is a Democrat.
Jessica Neuwerth, 31, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council and the Salinity Control Forum. Neuwerth has been the Deputy Director at the Colorado River Board of California since 2020. She was an Environmental Scientist with the Colorado River Board of California from 2014 to 2020, a Lab Technician at the Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company from 2013 to 2014, Forest Ecology Field Technician at the Forest and Fire Ecology Lab at the University of Wyoming and Sagebrush Research Assistant in the Botany Lab at the University of Wyoming in 2013, and Stream Ecology Research Assistant in the Stream Ecology Lab at the University of Wyoming from 2012 to 2013. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Neuwerth is a Democrat.
Cindy Elias, 44, of San Francisco, has been appointed Special Counsel to the Labor Commissioner at the Department of Industrial Relations’ Office of the Labor Commissioner. Elias has been a Bureau of Field Enforcement Attorney at the Labor Commissioner’s Office since 2018 and has been a Police Commissioner at the San Francisco Police Department since 2018. She was an Attorney for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office from 2006 to 2018. Elias was a Senior Legal Analyst at the Office of the State Public Defender from 2005 to 2006, and a Certified Law Fellow at the Women’s Empowerment Rights Clinic in 2004. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University. She is a member of the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $161,256. Elias is a Democrat.
Daniel Muallem, 60, of Rocklin, has been appointed Deputy Secretary and Chief Counsel at the California Department of Veteran Affairs. Muallem has been Assistant Chief Counsel at the California Department of Veteran Affairs since 2019. He was Lead Senior False Claims Trial Attorney at the California Department of Insurance from 2018 to 2019. He was Deputy Attorney IV at the California Department of Transportation from 1997 to 2018. Muallem was Staff Counsel at the Fair Political Practices Commission from 1994 to 1997. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $191,880. Muallem is a Democrat.
Henry C. Hansel, 73, of Santa Rosa, has been reappointed to the California Consumer Motor Vehicle Recovery Corporation Board of Directors, where he has served since 2012 and has been an independent Director of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. since 2001. Hansel has been Owner and President at the Hansel Auto Group since 1973. He is a Founding Director of the Bank of Petaluma, and he is a member of the US Bank San Francisco Advisory Board, Rebuild North Bay. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hansel is a Democrat.
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