Governor Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Kaina Pereira, of Elk Grove, has been appointed Executive Director of the California Workforce Development Board. Pereira has been Senior Advisor of Business Development at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic and Development since 2020 and served in several roles there from 2018 to 2020, including Deputy Director of Business Investment Services and Assistant Deputy Director of Business Investment Services. He was a Business and Real Estate Consultant at Harris Care Centers from 2012 to 2018, a Financial Strategist and E-Commerce Manager for Styles for Less Inc. from 2006 to 2011 and a Senior Contracts Administrator at Autoweb.com from 2005 to 2006. Pereira earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Davis and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $167,148. Pereira is registered without party preference.

Curtis Notsinneh, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards at the California Department of Industrial Relations. Notsinneh has been Chief Deputy Director of the California Workforce Development Board since 2018 and was its Corrections Workforce Partnership Manager in 2018. He was Director of Public Affairs for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation from 2014 to 2017. Notsinneh was Policy Director for State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano from 2011 to 2014. He was Senior Consultant for State Assemblymember Jerry Hill from 2009 to 2011. Notsinneh was Deputy State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance – California Office from 2007 to 2008. He was a Legislative Aide for State Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg from 2000 to 2007. Notsinneh is Chair of the Stewardship Committee for the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church and a member of the Executive Board for the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. Notsinneh is an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $159,696. Notsinneh is a Democrat.

Nancy Lee, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the University of California Board of Regents, where she has served since 2023. Lee has been Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Vice President of International Business Operations for The Walt Disney Company since 2022, where she held several roles from 2011 to 2022, including Director, Corporate Strategy, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer. Lee was President of Aquarius Ventures in 2022. She was an Associate at Goldman Sachs & Co. from 2008 to 2011, at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge from 2004 to 2006, at Rackemann Sawyer & Brewster from 2002 to 2004 and at Hale and Dorr LLP from 1999 to 2002. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Master of Business Administration degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lee is a Democrat.

Wenda Fong, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California State University Board of Trustees, where she has served since 2018. Fong has been a Television Producer since 1974 and a Director since 1980. She served in several roles at the Fox Broadcasting Company from 2001 to 2013, including Vice President of Alternative Entertainment, Vice President of Creative Diversity Development and Executive Director of Creative Diversity Development. Fong is Co-Founder and Chairperson Emeritus of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and a member of the Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian American Studies from the University of Southern California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Fong is a Democrat.

Lillian Kimbell, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the California State University Board of Trustees, where she has served since 2014. Kimbell has been Legal Counsel and Business Manager at Gardels Associates since 2011. She was Legal Counsel and Business Manager for the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions from 1996 to 2020. Kimbell served as a Law Clerk for Judge Harry Pregerson at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1986. She was a Sales Assistant for KCBS-TV from 1982 to 1983. Kimbell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Kimbell is a Democrat.

Amy Costa, of Alameda, has been reappointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, where she has served since 2018. Costa has been Founder of Full Moon Strategies since 2021. She was Deputy County Administrator of Alameda County from 2019 to 2021. Costa served in several roles at the California Department of Finance from 2014 to 2018, including Chief Deputy Director of Budget and Advisor to the Director on Higher Education. She was Account Lead for Blue Beyond Consulting from 2012 to 2014. Costa was Policy Director of State and Local Government Relations for Safeway Inc. from 2010 to 2012. She was Policy Director for State Senator Dean Florez from 2008 to 2009. Costa was Policy Consultant for State Senate President pro Tempore Don Perata in 2008. She was District Director for State Senator Don Perata from 2000 to 2003. Costa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Saint Mary’s College of California. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Costa is a Democrat.

Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Gomez-Heitzeberg served in several roles at the Kern Community College District from 2006 to 2018, including Vice President of Instruction for Bakersfield College, Acting President, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of Instruction and Executive Director/Associate Vice Chancellor of the District’s Child Development Centers. She is a member of the Kern Community College District Board of Trustees, Vice President of the California Community College Trustees Board and a member of the Association of Community College Trustees Board of Directors. Gomez-Heitzeberg earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and a Master of Arts degree in Art from California State University, Fresno. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gomez-Heitzeberg is a Democrat.

Cirian Villavicencio, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Villavicencio has been a Professor and Co-Chair of the Political Science Department at San Joaquin Delta College since 2012. He is a member of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, Phi Beta Kappa, California Teachers Association, Sacramento Filipino Political Action Committee and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. Villavicencio earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Wyoming. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Villavicencio is a Democrat.

William “Bill” Rawlings, of Diamond Bar, has been reappointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, where he has served since 2018. Rawlings has been a Planning Commissioner on the City of Diamond Bar Planning Commission since 2019 and Computer Facilities Coordinator at Mt. San Antonio College since 1999. Rawlings was Computer Operator at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District from 1996 to 1999. He held several positions at the North Orange County Community College District from 1993 to 1997, including Microcomputer Specialist and Computer Lab Technician. Rawlings is Chairperson of the Community College Committee in the California School Employees Association. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rawlings is a Democrat.

Alexander Sherriffs, of Fowler, has been reappointed to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, where he has served since 2011. Sherriffs has been an Academic Appointee at the University of California, San Francisco since 1983, a Professor of Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco since 2011, and a Physician at Central California Faculty Medical Group since 1985. He is a member of the California Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the California Academy of Family Physicians. Sherriffs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Yale University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sherriffs is a Democrat.