SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Erin Brennan, of Cameron Park, has been appointed Chief Counsel at the California Emergency Medical Services Authority. Brennan has served as an Attorney III at the California Emergency Medical Services Authority since 2023 and was an Attorney there from 2021 to 2023. She was an Associate at Rothschild, Wishek & Sands from 2016 to 2020 and at Timothy Cary & Associates from 2015 to 2016. Brennan was a Law Clerk at Timothy Cary & Associates in 2015. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $151,008. Brennan is registered without party preference.
Priscilla Ocen, of Inglewood, has been appointed to the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code. Ocen has been a Professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles since 2012. She served as Special Assistant Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2022 to 2023. Ocen was a Critical Race Studies Teaching Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 2010 to 2012. She was a Thurgood Marshall Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area from 2007 to 2009. Ocen served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Eric L. Clay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 2007 to 2008 and was a Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow from 2003 to 2004. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Africana Studies from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ocen is a Democrat.
David A. Carrillo, of Berkeley, has been reappointed to the California Law Revision Commission, where he has served since 2019. Carrillo has been Executive Director of the California Constitution Center and a Lecturer in Residence at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law since 2012. He served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. Carrillo served as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office from 2003 to 2007 and was a Litigation Associate in private practice from 1999 to 2000. He served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office from 1995 to 1998. Carrillo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Juris Doctor degree, a Master of Laws degree, and a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Carrillo is a Democrat.
Victor King, of La Crescenta, has been reappointed to the California Law Revision Commission, where he has served since 2011. King has been University Legal Counsel and Information Privacy Officer for California State University, Los Angeles since 2002. He was a Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith LLP from 2001 to 2002 and an Associate there from 1999 to 2001. King was an Associate at Bottum & Feilton from 1996 to 1999 and at Ochoa and Sillas from 1991 to 1995. King is a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association. King earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. King is a Democrat.
Richard “Rick” Simpson, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Law Revision Commission, where he has served since 2019. Simpson served as Chief of Staff for State Senator Robert Hertzberg in 2019. He was Deputy Chief of Staff and Education Advisor for eight Assembly Speakers from 1999 to 2016. Simpson was Legislative Secretary in the Office of Governor Gray Davis in 1999. He was Legislative Advocate for the California Teachers Association from 1996 to 1998. Simpson was an Educational Advisor for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown from 1991 to 1994. He was a Senior Consultant for the Assembly Education Committee from 1984 to 1990 and an Education Consultant at the Senate Office of Research from 1978 to 1984. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Simpson is a Democrat.
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