Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 12.21.21

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Katherine Lucero, 59, of San Jose, has been appointed Director of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration at the California Health and Human Services Agency. Lucero has been a Judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 2001, where she has been Supervising Judge of the Juvenile Justice Court since 2016 and the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court Division since 2019. She was a Commissioner for the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2000 to 2001 and a Deputy District Attorney at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office from 1991 to 1999. Lucero is a member of the California Judges Association, California Latino Judges Association and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Lucero earned a Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $194,868. Lucero is a Democrat.

Blanca Castro, 62, of Lincoln, has been appointed State Long-Term Care Ombudsman at the California Department of Aging. Castro was Advocacy Director for AARP of California from 2013 to 2021. She was Provider Outreach and Education Manager for Xerox State Health Care LLC from 2007 to 2013, Project Manager for MAXIMUS from 2005 to 2007 and Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the California Department of Social Services from 2000 to 2005. Castro was a Project Coordinator for the California Department of Health Services Diabetes Control Program from 1998 to 2000. Castro is a member of the American Society on Aging. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $145,008. Castro is a Democrat.

Autumn Boylan, 45, of Carmichael, has been appointed Deputy Director in the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the California Department of Health Care Services. Boylan has been Assistant Deputy Director of Integrated Systems at the California Department of Health Care Services since 2020. She was Branch Chief of Program Monitoring and Compliance at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2015 to 2020, Program Manager for the Center for Health Equity at the California Institute for Behavioral health Solutions from 2011 to 2015 and Staff Mental Health Specialist for the Office of Multicultural Services at the California Department of Mental Health from 2007 to 2011. Boylan earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Drexel University School of Public Health. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $177,744. Boylan is a Democrat.

Dana Moore, 39, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Center for Health Statistics and Informatics at the California Department of Public Health, where she has been serving as Acting Deputy Director since 2021, as State Registrar since 2021 and Assistant Deputy Director of Data Operations since 2019. Moore held multiple positions at the California Department of Public Health from 2010 to 2019, including Assistant Deputy Director for the Office of Health Equity, Tribal Liaison, Health Systems Strategist for the Fusion Center for Strategic Development and External Relations, and Emergency Planning Analyst for the Emergency Preparedness Office. She was Senior Health Program Planner at the San Francisco Department of Public Health from 2008 to 2010 and Health Program Supervisor for the Yolo County Health Department from 2004 to 2008. Moore earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $164,136. Moore is a Democrat.

Rita Nguyen, 38, of Walnut Creek, has been appointed Assistant Health Officer at the California Department of Public Health. Nguyen has been Assistant Health Officer and Chronic Disease Physician Specialist for the City and County of San Francisco Department of Public Health since 2017 and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco since 2013. She was Information and Guidance Branch Director for the City and County of San Francisco COVID-19 Command Center from 2020 to 2021 and Acting Deputy Director of the Population Health Division at the San Francisco Department of Public Health in 2021. Nguyen was Medical Director of Healthy Food Initiatives for the Community Wellness Program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General from 2015 to 2017 and Medical Advisor at IDEO from 2016 to 2017. Nguyen was Medical Director of Community Engagement for UCSF Division of Hospital Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General from 2015 to 2016, Civic Innovation Fellow at the Stanford University Hasso Plattner Institute of Design from 2015 to 2016 and Resident Physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School from 2010 to 2013. She is a member of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. Nguyen earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $198,636. Nguyen is a Democrat.

Audrey Dow, 47, of Hacienda Heights, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Dow has been Senior Vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity since 2016, where she held several positions from 2009 to 2016, including Vice President of External Affairs and Operations and Community Affairs Director. She was a Consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2008 and Program and Policy Director of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality from 2002 to 2007. Dow was Special Assistant to the Secretary at the California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency from 1999 to 2002 and a Client Services Representative for Contreras-Sweet Communications from 1997 to 1999. She earned a Master of Arts degree in public affairs from Princeton University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Dow is a Democrat.

Kathryn Dresslar, 65, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Dresslar was a Consultant for the Walter S. Johnson Foundation from 2016 to 2019, Director of Governmental Affairs for The Children’s Partnership from 2015 to 2016 and Chief of Staff for the Office of Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg from 2006 to 2014. She held multiple positions in the California State Assembly from 2000 to 2016, including Legislative Director for Assemblymember Mark Leno and Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg. Dresslar was Senior Policy Advocate for the Children’s Advocacy Institute/Center for Public Interest Law from 1997 to 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Dresslar is a Democrat.

Kevin Grumbach, 65, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Grumbach has been Chair of the University of California, San Francisco Department of Family and Community Medicine since 2003, where he has been a Professor since 1991. He is a member of the American and California Academies of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Association of Departments of Family Medicine, Physicians for a National Health Program, Physicians for Human Rights, North American Primary Care Research Group and the California Physicians’ Alliance. Grumbach earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Grumbach is a Democrat.

Nader Nadershahi, 51, of San Rafael, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Nadershahi has been Dean of the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry since 2016, where he held multiple positions from 2007 to 2016 including Interim Dean, Executive Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Acting Dean. He is chair-elect of the American Dental Education Association Board and a member of the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association and the Santa Fe Group. Nadershahi earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry, a Doctor of Education degree from the University of the Pacific Benerd School of Education and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Nadershahi is registered without party preference.

Van Ton-Quinlivan, 53, of Burlingame, has been appointed to the Health Workforce Education and Training Council. Ton-Quinlivan has been Chief Executive Officer of Futuro Health since 2020. She was Executive Vice Chancellor with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office from 2011 to 2019 and Director of Workforce Development at Pacific Gas and Electric from 2006 to 2011. Ton-Quinlivan is a member of the International Women’s Forum and serves on the board of the National Skills Coalition and National Student Clearinghouse. Ton-Quinlivan earned a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Education degree from Stanford University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $25 per diem. Ton-Quinlivan is a Democrat.

Roy Bucton, 57, of Duarte, has been appointed to the State Independent Living Council. Bucton has been Disability Advocate Coordinator for Painted Brain since 2021 and an Independent Contractor and Producer for music production and performance since 1983. He was Director and Founder of the Filipino Artists Network from 2001 to 2011. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bucton is registered without party preference.

Patrick Butler, 36, of Ukiah, has been appointed to the State Independent Living Council. Butler has been a Custodian for the Ukiah Unified School District since 2019 and did Work Study for the Citrus Heights Veterans Center from 2015 to 2018. Butler was a Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy from 2004 to 2009. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Butler is a Democrat.

Kyla-Tana Irving, 42, of Rancho Cordova, has been appointed to the State Independent Living Council. Irving has been Communications and Marketing Manager for United Way California Capital Region since 2020. She was Communications and Marketing Director for California Foundation for Independent Living Centers from 2017 to 2020, Program Director for Physicians for a Healthy California in 2016 and Communications Administrator for the Health Education Council from 2014 to 2015. Irving was a Grant Field Monitor for Richard Heath Associates Inc. in 2014, an Associate for the Social Innovation and Philanthropy Division at Dewey Square Group in 2013 and an Account Coordinator at Randle Communications from 2011 to 2013. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Irving is not registered to vote.

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