SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Kawser Amine, of Bay Point, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Amine has been Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Solidarity for Peace and Leadership since 2022. She has been Northern California Refugee Organizer for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and We Are All America since 2022. Amine was a Bank Teller for Citibank from 2019 to 2020 and a Psychosocial Support Program Assistant at World Vision from 2018 to 2019. Amine was a Leadership Program Assistant for Afghanistan’s National Security Council from 2017 to 2018 and a Political Advisor at the Arg Presidential Palace from 2015 to 2016. Amine was a member of the women’s national soccer team of Afghanistan from 2007 to 2015 and Program Coordinator at the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs from 2011 to 2013. She was a Radio Producer at 92.5 FM Youth Radio from 2011 to 2013. Amine is a Co-Founder of the American University of Afghanistan, Women’s Soccer Club. She is a member and ambassador of the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation and a gender advisor at Roots of Peace. Amine is a member of the Global Friends of Afghanistan Advisory Board, the International Action Network for Gender Equity and Law and the Sports Professional Knowledge Network Advisory Board.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations Management and Communication from the Indian School of Business Management and Administration. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Amine is not registered to vote.

Erica Courtney, of San Mateo, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Courtney has been Chief Executive Officer of 2020vet Inc. since 2014. Courtney has served as a Military Governance Specialist at the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command since 2023. She served in several roles in the U.S. Army from 1991 to 2019, including as a Military Policewoman, Helicopter Pilot, Adjunct Professor of Military Science, Logistician, Senior Strategy, Policy and Partnership Action Officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Military-Political Advisor to the United Nations and NATO-trained and experienced Gender Advisor. She served as a United Nations Political-Military Advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense from 2017 to 2020. Courtney was Chief Executive Officer at Courtney Consulting Solutions from 2008 to 2014. She served in the U.S. Army on active duty as an AeroScout Pilot from 1997 to 2005 and as a Military Police Officer from 1991 to 1994. Courtney is a member of the National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses’ Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. She is a member of the Order of St. George of Canada and the Americas honored as a Dame. Courtney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Hawaiʻi and an executive Master of Business Administration degree from Florida International University in Miami. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Courtney is registered without party preference.

Rita Gallardo Good, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Gallardo Good has been Senior Associate Vice President at California State University, Sacramento since 2020. She was Assistant Director of Employer Relations at CalSTRS from 2016 to 2020 and Chief of Stakeholder Relations at CalPERS from 2013 to 2016. She was a Legislative Consultant in the Office of State Senator Alex Padilla from 2011 to 2013. Gallardo Good is a member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), California Women Lead and Leadership California. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of La Verne, and a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Gallardo Good is a Democrat.

Kamilah Willingham, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Willingham has been a Public Speaker, Writer and Consultant since 2015. She was a Program and Outreach Director at the California Women’s Law Center from 2015 to 2016. Willingham was a Program Associate at Just Detention International from 2013 to 2015. She was a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard University Department of Sociology in 2012. Willingham was a Student Attorney in the Family Law, Domestic Violence and LGBT Law Unit at WilmerHale Legal Services Center from 2009 to 2011. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Pomona College and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Willingham is a Democrat.

Crystal Young, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Young has been Director of Communications to the First Partner in the Office of the Governor since 2022. She was Press Secretary in the Office of the California Attorney General from 2020 to 2022. Young was a Communications Coordinator for Teamsters Local 856 from 2017 to 2020. She was a Staff Writer at the United Domestic Workers of America from 2015 to 2017. Young was a Program Manager at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor from 2011 to 2015. She was an Eligibility Specialist at the State of Michigan Department of Human Services in 2011. Young was an Investigative Assistant at the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights from 2008 to 2009. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Adrian College and a Master of Arts degree in Social Justice from Loyola University Chicago. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Young is a Democrat.

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