SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Joseph Cruz, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Transportation Commission. Cruz has been Executive Director of the California State Council of Laborers since 2021. He was Partner and Lobbyist for Cruz Strategies from 2018 to 2021 and a Legislative Advocate for the California State Council of Laborers from 2011 to 2018. He was Director of Government Affairs at the California Alliance for Jobs from 2000 to 2011. Cruz is a member of Transportation California, the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy and the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Cruz is a Democrat.Carl Guardino, 61, of Monte Sereno, has been reappointed to the California Transportation Commission, where he has served since 2007. Guardino has been Vice President of Tarana Wireless since 2022. He was Executive Vice President of Bloom Energy from 2020 to 2022. Guardino was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group from 1997 to 2020. He was Director of Government Affairs for Hewlett Packard Company from 1995 to 1997. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Guardino is a Democrat. Hilary Norton, 54, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California Transportation Commission, where she has served since 2019. Norton has been President and Managing Partner of Effect Strategies since 2016 and Executive Director of FASTLink DTLA since 2018. She was Executive Director of Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic (FAST) from 2008 to 2019. Norton earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Norton is a Democrat.David Ghilarducci, 61, of Santa Cruz, has been appointed to the Commission on Emergency Medical Services. Ghilarducci has been a Deputy Health Officer and EMS Medical Director at the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency since 2014. He has been a Health Officer and EMS Medical Director at San Benito County Health Services Agency since 2014. Ghilarducci was an EMS Medical Director at Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services Agency from 2003 to 2010. He was an Emergency Physician at Emergency Physicians Associates from 2005 to 2019 and a Fire Captain at the Santa Clara County Fire Department from 1987 to 1996. He is a member of the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Ghilarducci earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ghilarducci is a Democrat. Michelle Passero, 53, of Mill Valley, has been reappointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, where she has served since 2022. Passero has been Director of Climate and Nature Based Solutions and Senior Policy Advisor at the Nature Conservancy since 2008. She was a Business Development Executive at EcoSecurities in 2008. Passero was Director of Policy Initiatives at the Pacific Forest Trust from 2000 to 2008 and a Contract Attorney at Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe from 1999 to 2000. She was a Law Clark and Contract Attorney at Natural Heritage Institute from 1997 to 1999. Passero was a Board Member of the Marin Conservation League from 2007 to 2011 and a Community Member of the Presidio Trust Restoration Advisory Board from 2003 to 2010. Passero earned a Master of Laws degree in Sustainable International Development from the University of Washington School of Law and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Passero is registered without party preference.S. Patricia Stock, 60, of Chico, has been reappointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, where she has served since 2022. Stock has been Dean of the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico since 2021. She was Director of the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 2019 to 2021, where she was a Professor in the Department of Entomology and the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences from 2001 to 2021. Stock was an Assistant Curator and Senior Museum Scientist for the Nematode Collection at the University of California, Davis from 1999 to 2001. She is a member at the Society of Nematologists, the International Symbiosis Society and the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America. Stock is the Vice President at the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Natural Sciences from Universidad Nacional de la Plata. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Stock is a Democrat.Christopher Valadez, 42, of Salinas, has been reappointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2019. Valadez has been President of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California since 2019. He was Director of Environmental, Governmental and Regulatory Affairs at the California Fresh Fruit Association from 2008 to 2019. Valadez was a Deputy District Director in the Office of Congressman George Radanovich from 2004 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Valadez is registered without party preference.Barrie Grant, 79, of Bonsall, has been appointed to the Veterinary Medical Board. He has been an Equine Surgeon in private practice since 2008. He was an Equine Surgeon at San Luis Rey Equine Hospital from 1991 to 2008. Grant was a Faculty Member at Washington State University from 1969 to 1972 and from 1974 to 1991. He earned Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Science degrees from Washington State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Grant is a Democrat.
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