Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 9.2.22

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Avyark “Avy” Mallik, 36, of San Francisco, has been appointed General Counsel at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. He has served as Director of Fintech Policy for the Financial Services Committee at the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021, where he was Senior Counsel from 2019 to 2021. He was an Assistant Attorney General for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General from 2018 to 2019. Mallik was Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Program and Foreclosure Prevention Staff Attorney at Civil Justice from 2013 to 2018. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $191,844. Mallik is a Democrat.    Monisha Avery, 61, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Avery has been a Deputy Director at the Center for Data Insights and Innovation at the California Health and Human Services Agency since 2020. She held several positions at the Office of the Patient Advocate at the California Health and Human Services Agency from 2015 to 2020, including Deputy Director and Acting Director. Avery was a Federal Legislative Coordinator at the California Department of Social Services from 2009 to 2015, a Project Manager there from 2005 to 2009 and a Social Services Consultant and Associate Governmental Program Analyst there from 1999 to 2005. Avery was a Social Worker at Lilliput Children’s Services from 1990 to 1995 and at Marshall Hospital from 1995 to 1998. She was a Victim and Witness Services Advocate at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 1999. Avery earned a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $143,724. Avery is a Democrat. Brian R. Wong, 50, of Elk Grove, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Innovation and Technology at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Wong has been Chief Deputy Director and Chief Information Office at the Office of Systems Integration since 2020. He was Chief Information Officer and Deputy Director at the California Department of Social Services from 2017 to 2020. Wong held several positions at the California Department of Motor Vehicles from 2007 to 2017, including Project Director of IT Modernization, Solutions and Framework, Section Chief of Network and Communications, Network Manager and Network Security Engineer. Wong was Network Security Engineer at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board from 2006 to 2007. He was Senior Network Support Engineer at Oracle Corporation from 2001 to 2006. Wong is a member of the Asian Pacific State Employees Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $176,700. Wong is a Democrat.
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