SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Linda Lye, 47, of Kensington, has been appointed Deputy Secretary for Law Enforcement and General Counsel at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Lye has served as a Judge at the Contra Costa County Superior Court since 2018. She held multiple positions at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California from 2010 to 2018, including Senior Staff Attorney and Staff Attorney. Lye held multiple positions at Altshuler Berzon LLP from 2002 to 2010, including Partner and Associate. She served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 2000 to 2001 and at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit for Judge Guido Calabresi from 1999 to 2000. Lye earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $195,000. Lye will assume her position with the California Environmental Protection Agency in January after she steps down from the Court. Lye is a Democrat.

Erika Li, 45, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director, Budgets for the California Department of Finance. Li has been Program Budget Manager at the California Department of Finance since 2017, where she was Assistant Program Budget Manager from 2012 to 2017. She was Senior Policy and Fiscal Analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office from 2008 to 2012 and a Researcher for the California Institute of Technology from 2004 to 2008. She was a Research Technician for the Long Beach Unified School District from 2003 to 2004, a Selection Manager for the New Teacher Project from 2002 to 2003 and a Graduate Research Assistant for the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan from 2001 to 2002. She was a Special Education Teacher for the New Orleans Parish School Board, Booker T. Washington Sr. High School from 1997 to 1999. Li earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $195,180. Li is a Democrat.

Mark W. Buell, 77, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the FAIR Plan Governing Committee. Buell was a Partner at the Real Estate Development Firm from 1994 to 2006. He was General Manager at Tuntex from 1990 to 1994. Buell was Vice President at Southwest Diversified from 1987 to 1990. He served as Executive Director of the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency from 1978 to 1985 and as Artillery Liaison Sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970. Buell is president of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission, chair of the Marin Community Foundation Board of Directors and a member of the University of San Francisco Board of Trustees. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Buell is a Democrat.

Drake Dillard, 70, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Commission on Disability Access. Dillard has been an Architect at Perkins & Will since 2014. Dillard was Design Manager at Parsons from 2007 to 2013. He earned a Master of Arts degree in architecture from Howard University. Dillard is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Dillard is registered without party preference.

Janet C. Frank, 71, of Manhattan Beach, has been appointed to the California Commission on Aging. Frank has been Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Aging Resources since 2001. She has been a Faculty Associate at the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research since 2013 and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health since 1997. She served in several positions at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1983 to 2013, including Assistant Director for Academic Programs in the Multicampus Program for Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Assistant Director of Continuing Education in Health Sciences at the University Extension Department of Health Sciences. Frank earned a Master of Science degree in gerontology from the University of Southern California and a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Frank is a Democrat.

David A. Lindeman, 68, of Oakland, has been appointed to the California Commission on Aging. Lindeman has been Director of Health at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute since 2014 and Director of the Center for Technology and Aging since 2019. Lindeman was Senior Advisor at HealthTech Solutions from 2008 to 2010. He was Vice President, Director and Founder at Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging from 1999 to 2008. Lindeman was Associate Professor of Neurology and Health Services at Rush Institute for Healthy Aging from 1993 to 1999. He was Co-Director at the University of California, Davis Northern California Alzheimer’s Disease Center from 1985 to 1993. Lindeman earned a Master of Social Work degree in gerontology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member at the American Society on Aging and the Gerontological Society of America. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lindeman is a Democrat.

Rudy Murillo, 73, of Coronado, has been appointed to the California Boating and Waterways Commission. Murillo has been Director of State Government Relations at the University of California, San Diego since 2004. He was Executive Director for the Commission of the Californias from 1999 to 2004, Special Assistant to Director of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1987 to 1999 and Executive Assistant to San Diego City Councilmember Uvaldo Martinez from 1982 to 1986. Murillo was Assistant to the Port Director for the Port of San Diego from 1979 to 1982 and Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Lionel Van Deerlin from 1970 to 1979. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Murillo is a Democrat.

Monica Samaniego Hunter, 71, of Los Osos, has been reappointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2005. Hunter has been Chief Researcher at YKT Consulting since 2018. She was Director of Research at PAST Foundation from 2007 to 2018, Central Coast Watersheds Program Manager at the Planning and Conservation League Foundation from 2004 to 2012 and Instructor in the Napa Valley College Social Sciences Department in 2003. Hunter was a Research Assistant for the California Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program from 2000 to 2003, a Researcher for the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2001 and a Consultant for the Morro Bay National Estuary Program in 2000. She was a Curator for the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum from 1996 to 1997, Associate Curator for the Los Angeles Maritime Museum from 1993 to 1995 and a Field Assistant and Researcher for California State Parks and the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in 1994 and 1991. Hunter was an Associate Producer for Intellicom Communications Inc. from 1985 to 1990. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $250 per diem. Hunter is a Democrat.

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