Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 1.6.23

Published:

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Kayla Ungar, 30, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director of the California Arts Council. Ungar has been Special Advisor for Climate, Water and Drought at the California Department of Food and Agriculture since 2022. She was an Assistant Cabinet Deputy in the Office of the Governor from 2019 to 2022. She worked at SGR Consulting from 2014 to 2019 and was Chief of Staff there from 2016 to 2019. She served as part of the consulting team on the Global Climate Action Summit in 2018. Ungar earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Northwestern University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $140,004. Ungar is a Democrat.

Caleb Duarte, 45, of Fresno, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Duarte has been a Professor of Sculpture at Fresno City College since 2018. He is Co-Founder of E.D.E.L.O, an experimental art practice of diverse disciplines that was initiated in Chiapas, Mexico in 2010. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Duarte is registered without party preference.

Leah Goodwin, 65, of Imperial Beach, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Goodwin has been President of Leah Goodwin Creations since 2013 and provides public art consultant and curatorial support for a variety of organizations. She was Director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation from 2013 to 2014, Director of Art Programs and Fundraising Strategies at Aesthetics Inc. from 2003 to 2013 and President and Chief Operation Officer at VSA Arts of California from 2002 to 2003. Goodwin was Director of Museum and Education from 2014 to 2018 and Director of Education and Access from 1994 to 2000 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Goodwin is a Democrat.

Alex Israel, 40, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California Arts Council, where he has served since 2020. Israel has been a Contemporary Artist since 2010, with a broad conceptual practice that examines Southern Californian culture, the entertainment industry and the American Dream. He was a Salesperson for Hauser & Wirth Gallery from 2006 to 2008, an Assistant for the artist Jason Rhoades from 2005 to 2006 and at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Department in New York in 2004. He was a Curatorial Assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2003. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California Roski School of Fine Arts. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Israel is a Democrat.

Nicola Miner, 52, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Miner has been an Instructor at College of San Mateo since 2016. She earned a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Columbia University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Miner is a Democrat.

Olivia Raynor, 68, of Westlake Village, has been appointed to the California Arts Council. Raynor has been an Independent Consultant and Faculty Member with the University of California, Los Angeles since 2021. She has served as Founder and Director of the University of California, Los Angeles National Arts and Disability Center since 1994. She was Director of the Tarjan Center, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles from 2000 to 2022, where she also served in several positions from 1994 to 2000, including Associate Director of Policy, Advocacy and Outreach and Coordinator of Occupational Therapy. Raynor earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology and Developmental Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Arts degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Raynor is a Democrat.

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