Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 1.20.23

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Kourtney Vaccaro, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed Technical Advisor to Commissioner Karen Douglas at the California Public Utilities Commission. Vaccaro has been a Commissioner of the California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (California Energy Commission) since 2022. She was Advisor to Commissioner Karen Douglas at the California Energy Commission from 2019 to 2022, where she held multiple positions from 2009 to 2019, including Chief Counsel, Assistant Executive Director of Compliance Assistance and Enforcement, Attorney III and Hearing Advisor. She was a Partner at Vu Vaccaro LLP from 2012 to 2013 and held multiple positions at the Fair Political Practices Commission from 2006 to 2009, including Enforcement Division Chief and Senior Commission Counsel (Specialist). Vaccaro was Of Counsel at Best Best & Krieger LLP in 2007, where she held multiple attorney positions from 2002 to 2005. She held multiple attorney positions at Freeman, D’Aiuto, Pierce, Gurev & Keeling from 2000 to 2005 and was an Associate at Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard from 1996 to 2000. Vaccaro earned a Juris Doctor degree and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $158,628. Vaccaro is a Democrat.William “Bill” A. Prezant, 76, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board, where he has served since 2019. Prezant has been Of Counsel at Prezant & Mollath since 2016, where he was Partner from 1987 to 2016. He was a member of the Hambrecht Partners Holding LLC Board of Directors from 2014 to 2017 and Director of Forward Management there from 2005 to 2016. Prezant was a member of the Strategic Hotels and Resorts Board of Directors from 2006 to 2015. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Prezant is a Democrat.Marvin Kropke, 75, of Brea, has been reappointed to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, where he has served since 2019. Kropke has been a member of the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors since 2013. He was Business Manager and Financial Secretary for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 from 1997 to 2018. Kropke is a disabled veteran from combat in the Vietnam War, he served in the 4th Infantry Division. He is a life member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Disabled American Veterans organizations. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $148,822. Kropke is a Democrat.

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