Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 7.23.20

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

David A. Kilgore Jr., 42, of Rancho Cordova, has been reappointed director of the California Department of Child Support Services, where he has served since 2018. Kilgore was director of the Riverside County Department of Child Support Services from 2015 to 2018. He was chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Child Support Services from 2013 to 2015, where he was deputy director of operations from 2008 to 2013. He was deputy director of operations at the San Bernardino County Department of Child Support Services from 2006 to 2008 and held several positions at the Tulare County Department of Child Support Services from 2002 to 2006, including program manager and staff services analyst. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, Northridge. Kilgore was confirmed to this position by the Senate in 2018 and the compensation is $215,124. Kilgore is registered without party preference.

Kristen Erickson-Donadee, 41, of Folsom, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Child Support Services. Erickson-Donadee has been deputy director and chief counsel of legal affairs at the California Department of Child Services since 2018, where she has served in several positions since 2009, including assistant chief counsel and attorney III. She was an attorney at the Sierra Nevada Regional Department of Child Support Services from 2007 to 2012. Erickson-Donadee earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $189,600. Erickson-Donadee is a Democrat.

Rodger E. Butler, 40, of Sacramento, has been reappointed associate secretary of media relations at the California Health and Human Services Agency, where he has served since 2018. Butler held several positions at the California Department of Managed Health Care from 2007 to 2018, including acting deputy director of communications and planning, senior information officer and associate governmental program analyst. He was a program technician at the California Employment Development Department in 2007 and a student assistant at the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services from 2006 to 2007. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $116,688. Butler is registered without party preference.

Kirk A. Davis, 58, of Loomis, has been appointed deputy director of health care delivery systems at the California Department of Health Care Services. Davis has been health care consultant at Connected Living since 2020, where he was president of operations and business development from 2019 to 2020. He was executive director of clinic operations at Dignity Health Medical Foundation from 2017 to 2019 and regional director of operations and business development at CareMeridian from 2009 to 2017. Davis was district director of sales and marketing at Kindred Healthcare from 2007 to 2009 and marketing manager and clinical rehabilitation specialist at Sutter Affiliates from 2004 to 2007. Davis earned a Master of Business Administration degree and a Doctor of Education degree in higher education leadership from the University of the Pacific. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $170,004. Kirk is registered without party preference.

John M. Puente, 48, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director and chief counsel at the California Department of Health Care Services. Puente has been a partner at Nossaman LLP since 2019. He was vice president and California operations director at the Oscar Health Plan of California from 2017 to 2019. Puente was vice president of regulatory affairs and deputy general counsel at Molina Healthcare from 2007 of 2017. He was vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at the California Association of Health Plans from 2006 to 2007. Puente was deputy director of plan and provider relations at the Department of Managed Health Care from 2004 to 2006. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $197,388. Puente is a Democrat.

Yang Lee, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant director for the policy and quality assurance branch at the California Department of Social Services. Yang has served as principal program budget analyst for the California Department of Finance since 2012, where he was finance budget analyst from 2008 to 2012. He held several positions in the Office of State Assemblymember Loni Hancock from 2005 to 2008, including legislative assistant and assembly fellow. Yang earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $150,036. Yang is a Democrat.

Andi Mudryk, 56, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Rehabilitation. Mudryk has served as chief counsel at the California Department of Rehabilitation since 2018 and as acting chief deputy director since 2020. She was director of litigation and policy advocacy at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County from 2017 to 2018. Mudryk was executive director at Disability Rights Advocates in 2017. She has held several positions at Disability Rights California from 2006 to 2017, including deputy director, director of litigation and managing attorney. Mudryk was director of litigation and advocacy at the Arizona Center for Disability Law from 2002 to 2006. Mudryk earned a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $183,396. Mudryk is a Democrat.

Megan Kirkeby, 36, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of housing policy development at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, where she has served as assistant deputy director of fair housing since 2018 and was a policy research specialist from 2015 to 2018. She held several positions at the California Housing Partnership from 2012 to 2015, including policy director and sustainable housing policy manager. Kirkeby was a community equity intern at PolicyLink in 2011. She was a policy associate at the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California from 2008 to 2010. Kirkeby earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,008. Kirkeby is a Democrat.

Daniel Lee, 49, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Podiatric Medical Board of California. Lee has been a clinical professor at the California Northstate University, College of Medicine since 2013 and a foot and ankle surgeon for the Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente since 2011. He is a fellow of American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons, California Podiatric Medical Association and American Podiatric Medical Association. Lee is a member of the California Radiologic Technology Certification Committee’s Board of Directors. He earned a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the California College of Podiatric Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biomedical sciences from Chulalongkorn University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lee is registered without party preference.

Meredith McKenzie, 48, of Los Gatos, has been reappointed to the Dental Board of California, where she has served since 2013. McKenzie has been a vice president and deputy general counsel at Juniper Networks since 2012. She was a senior director of intellectual property at the Symantec Corporation from 2006 to 2012, a director of litigation, licensing and intellectual property at Cypress Semiconductor from 2001 to 2006 and corporate counsel and director of intellectual property at Enuvis from 2000 to 2001. McKenzie was an associate at Howrey LLC from 1998 to 2000 and patent agent and design engineer at Intel Corporation from 1993 to 1998. McKenzie earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. McKenzie is registered without party preference.

Alicia Montell, 54, of San Ramon, has been appointed to the Dental Board of California. Montell has been director of dental services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health since 2019. She was dental director at Santa Rosa Community Health from 2013 to 2019 and associate dental director at Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center from 2010 to 2013, where she was a staff dentist from 2007 to 2010. Montell was a staff dentist at La Clinica de La Raza in 2006. She is a member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association, and the San Francisco Dental Society. She earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Montell is registered without party preference.

James Yu, 63, of Fremont, has been reappointed to the Dental Board of California, where he has served since 2018. Yu has been a dentist at James K. Yu DDS since 1984, where he has been an acupuncturist since 2008. He has been a radio talk show host at AM 1450 since 2000 and radio talk show president and owner at the Chinese Today Radio Station since 2015. Yu is Bay Area leader of Medical Services International and a member of the American Dental Association, California Acupuncture Association, San Francisco Dental Society, Application of Acupuncture in Dental Practices, Northern California Chinese Media Association, San Francisco Chinatown Salvation Army, American Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture and the American Society of Chinese Medicine. He earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of the Pacific School of Dentistry and a Master of Science degree in acupuncture from the University of East-West Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Yu is a Republican.

Miguel Galarza, 59, of Millbrae, has been appointed to the Contractors State License Board. Galarza has been founder and president of Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction Inc. since 2002. He was senior program manager at Mendelian Construction from 1993 to 2002. Galarza was project manager estimator at Hopkins Heating and Cooling from 1991 to 1993. He was a union carpenter at Carpenters Local Union No. 22 from 1981 to 1991. He is a member of the Associated General Contractors of America National Diversity & Inclusion Council and district director for the San Francisco Chapter of Associated General Contractors of California. Galarza is a member of the United Contractors, California Building Industry Association and the Society of American Military Engineers. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Galarza is a Democrat.

Susan Granzella, 69, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the Contractors State License Board, where she has served since 2014. Granzella held several positions at Visa Inc. from 1996 to 2014, including senior director and vice president for worldwide technical publications and global development audit and compliance. She is a member of the My Sister’s House Board of Directors. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Granzella is a Democrat.

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