SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Christina Alicia Spagnoli, 41, of Fair Oaks, has been appointed Senior Advisor at the California Government Operations Agency, where she has served as Deputy Secretary of Legislation since 2019. Spagnoli was Vice President of State Government Relations at the California Bankers Association from 2018 to 2019. She was Capitol Director for State Assemblymember Blanca Rubio from 2016 to 2018, Chief Lobbyist and Legislative Director for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California from 2014 to 2016 and Legislative Director in the Office of State Assembly Majority Whip Jimmy Gomez from 2013 to 2014. Spagnoli was Senior Legislative Aide in the Office of California State Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Nora Campos from 2011 to 2013, Scheduler and Legislative Aide in the Office of State Assemblymember Gilbert Cedillo from 2010 to 2011 and a Fellow in the Office of State Assemblymember Dave Jones from 2008 to 2009. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,836. Spagnoli is a Democrat.
Luis Larios, 32, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Legislation and External Affairs at the California Government Operations Agency. Larios has been a Deputy Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2020. He was a Senior Assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago from 2019 to 2020 and a Legislative Aide in the Office of State Assemblymember Mike Gipson from 2017 to 2019. Larios was an Assembly Fellow in the Office of State Assemblymember Kevin Mullin from 2016 to 2017. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $160,836. Larios is a Democrat.
Sergio Gutierrez, 47, of Wilton, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the Office of Data and Innovation. Gutierrez has been Agency Chief Information Officer at the California Environmental Protection Agency since 2010. He was Acting Deputy Director and Chief Information Officer at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 2012 to 2013. Gutierrez was Chief of the Statewide Network Support Bureau at the California Department of Insurance from 2007 to 2010. He held several positions at the California Department of Conservation from 2001 to 2007, including Chief of Enterprise Infrastructure and Support and Lead Network Architect. Gutierrez was Chief Messaging Architect at the California Department of Water Resources from 2000 to 2001. He was Lead Information Systems Administrator at the California Federal Bay-Delta Program from 1995 to 2000. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $196,480. Gutierrez is a Democrat.
Kimberly Hicks, 40, of Fairfax, has been appointed Deputy Director of Advanced Analytics and Evaluation at the Office of Data and Innovation. Hicks has served as Math Faculty at the City College of San Francisco since 2022 and has been a Data Scientist at Marin Data Science Consultants since 2018. Hicks was a Data Scientist for the City and County of San Francisco from 2017 to 2018. She was an Enterprise Business Models Business Analyst at Autodesk from 2013 to 2014 and a Senior Consultant and Senior Industrial Engineer at Gap Inc. from 2012 to 2013. Hicks was a Statistician at Domino’s Pizza Corporate Headquarters from 2010 to 2012. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Applied Statistics from the University of Michigan. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $168,432. Hicks is a Democrat.
Jared C. Johnson, 54, of Roseville, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Technology. Johnson has been Deputy Director of Data Center Support Services at the California Department of Technology since 2021. He held several positions at the California Franchise Tax Board from 2005 to 2021, including Director of the Operations Management Bureau, Section Manager for the IT Service Support and Data Processing Services Sections, Senior Manager of the Data Processing Services Section, Manager of the Command Center and Lead for eService Infrastructure Support. Johnson was Supervisor of the IT Business and Support Services Unit at the Department of Pesticide Regulation from 2003 to 2005. He was a System Test Analyst on the INC Project at the California Franchise Tax Board from 2005 to 2006. Johnson was an IT analyst at the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency from 1999 to 2003. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $198,000. Johnson is a Democrat.